The Pursuit of Family
by GrandMassaSpectre
Summary: You know one may think a family can only be blood; however, it goes farther than that. (My first story! Please review. Much appreciated.)
1. A Day of a Mutombo

Buuuzzzzzz! Buuuzzzzzz!

"Good morning, Goood morning to everyone in Royal Woods! I'm your crazy host, Bobby Grinns of the Bobby Grinns Morning Show!" announced the eccentric radio host.

A young African American boy of the age of 11 slowly opened his eyes to his medium-sized room. His amber eyes grazed across the room, slowly taking in every detail of his personal belongings.

With a groan, he flipped his comforter off of his body and planted his feet on the carpet floor. He made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. The boy scratched his medium length dreadlocks, "Man, I need to visit Leni again. These dreads are going out of wack," he noted, his voice slowly creeping towards the tenor range because good old puberty.

After freshing up, he proceeded to the dining room/kitchen to make some breakfast. On the refrigerator, there was a note for him from his father. "Dear T.K., I'm sorry I couldn't be there to greet ya. I was called by a friend of mine to haul some things to Detriot, so I will be gone for a few days. Before I forget, I brought some breakfast from WHOP so that you won't have to cook. Love you son, and have a great Spring Break. You deserve some R&R. Sincerely Dad," he read.

He walked over to the microwave and took out his food. It contain a ham and cheese omelet, bacon, and pancakes. T.K. smiled at the fact that his father may never be around, but he still loves him and cares for him when he least expected.

After eating, T.K. goes to his room to get dressed. He wore his usual attire: Navy tank top, white sweatpants, navy skate shoes with attachable wheels on the soles, and a navy headband. Being dressed, he grabbed his MP3, his headphones, his skateboard, and his keychain. He rushed out the house, stopping to lock the door. With that deed done, he hopped on his skateboard and headed on his way.

30 minutes later, he reached his destination, the Loud House. Prior to moving to R.W., T.K. and his father heard rumors about the infamous family. It ranged from pool mishaps, street fighting-esque fights, and overall ultra-high sound levels. T.K. and his fathet chalked up the children as just being kids. Although, Mr. Mutombo made a silent prayer to the Loud parents for dealing with nearly a dozen kids.

T.K. walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. There was a wait as the door was opened by Lori, the eldest of Loud kids. She and T.K. do get along, but they would crack on each other with jokes. "Hmph, if it isn't little Kelli. Here for another hair appointment with Leni?" Lori smugly asked, knowing that saying his middle name annoys him.

T.K. gave an unamused glare towards the usage of his name. "Yeah, matter of fact, I'm here for that, Madam Farts-A-Lots," T.K. snarked back. Lori's expression went from smug to embarrassment to anger seconds flat, "One, it was my shoes, and two, who told you that rumor?" "I have my sources, chica. Now scoot, I need to see your sis," T.K. ordered, shooing her away with his hand. "Ugh, fine. She's in the living room if you're wondering," Lori informed, moving out of way. T.K. entered the house and founded the perky Loud on the couch watching a reality show. "No way Natasha, you could do so much better than Alejandro," Leni murmured, tossing some popcorn into her mouth.

"Uh, Leni? I need your expertise, ASAP," T.K. asked. Leni turned her head, "What was that, you need an expert on sap? That's a weird request, T." "Heh, heh. No chica, can you redo my dreads?" T.K. chuckled, taking off his headband and unleashing his sinful fluff of a hairstyle to Leni.

Leni gasped, "Oh my gosh, 'K! What happened to your hair?!" "Welp, it turns out I'm long over due for a checkup," T.K. stated, swooshing his mop of hair around. "This is totes a code bedhead. Lori, I need your help on this," Leni ordered, dragging T.K. up to their room. "Fine, I've got nothing to do anyway. Bobby's on vacation, and he has no reception where he's at," Lori groaned, trudging upstairs to help out.

"So, 'K. Anyone you like at school?" Leni asked, drowning T.K.'s hair in a small tub. "Uhhhhh, why?" T.K. pried, confused about her question. "Jussst curious, that's all," Leni sang, combing all of T.K.'s clumps out of his hair. "Would you just spit it out already? It isn't like that this conversation is going to leave this room," Lori snapped, becoming impatient from T.K.'s stalling. "Alright alright, sheesh. Krystal, her name is Krystal. Hazel eyes, long black wavy hair, and an accent that'll make the coldest brothas go on cloud nine," T.K. noted, feeling giddy about the girl in question. Leni gushed from T.K.'s explanation; she thought it was so adorable that a young boy is crushing on a girl. It was like good ole puppy love. Lori also thought it was cute, and was relieved that the crush didn't involved her.

Two hours later, Leni was finished. "All done, 'K. Hope you'll like the new changes," Leni announced. T.K. checked himself in the mirror; some of his dreads was wrapped in two large buns while the rest hanged low. To wrap up this ensemble, two large bows decorated his buns.

"Ok, I liked the new hairstyle, but did you really had to put the bows on 'em?" T.K. questioned. "But you look sooo cute," Leni complimented. "Yeah, the bows really syncs with your tough guy act," Lori added, milking everything out of this.

T.K.'s face was burning red in embarrassment, "Ya know what, I don't need this from you, blondie. Leni, where's Lincoln?" "He should be in the basement with Clyde," She answered. "Thank you. Bye," T.K. said, leaving the room. "Blondie? Is that the best he could come up with?" Lori asked. "No. What about Madam Farts-A-Lot?" Leni answered. "Were you eavesdropping onto our conversation?" Lori pried. Leni took a confused look, "Eavesdropping?" "Nevermind, I'm going out," Lori said.

T.K. walked down the hallway, approaching the stairs. Before he could descent, the twins' room opened and the kids in question rolled out, fighting each other. "You doody-head! You cutted Princess Bella's hair off," Lola shouted, slapping Lana everywhere.

"I'm the doody-head!? She needed a haircut," Lana retorted, defending herself from Lola's slap barrage. "Time for an intervention. Aye, aye you two break it up. Break it up. What's going on?" T.K. inquired, pulling Lola off of Lana. "She made Bella bald!" Lola accused. "Bella-who-now?" T.K. questioned. "Her stupid princess dollie. Heh, heh. Nice bows, T.K.," Lana giggled, taking in T.K.'s appearance. "STUPID!?" Lola screeched, giving her a second wind to thrash Lana.

T.K. winced from the girl's yelling, "Two things: One, chill out, and two, it was Leni's idea. Now Lana what do you cherish the most?" "My mud pies, but I don't see how that's so important, 'K?" Lana stated.

"I'm not finished, chica. Wouldn't be messed up if Lo here destroyed that one perfect mud pie that you worked so hard on for how ever long? Just like how you messed up Lo's doll." T.K. explained. Lana thought hard about this before realizing what she done. "I'd never thought about it that way. Lola, I'm sorry for makin' Bella bald," Lana meekly apologized, looking down on the ground. T.K. looked towards Lola, "Is you calm now?" Lola nodded her head.

"Alright then. Go on," T.K. instructed, releasing her from his grip. She walked to Lana and stared at her. Lana became scared from the constant staring that her little sister was doing. Before she knew it, Lola engulfed her in a big hug, "Apology accepted." "Yes, synchronization wins. I'm so awesome," T.K. thought, gloating internally at his success.

The twins released themselves from their hug. "So you wanna watch some cartoons?" Lola asked. "You've read my mind," Lana stated. "Thanks, T.K.!" The twins exclaimed, heading downstairs.

"Ha, you see! Lincoln ain't the only one that solves problems 'round here! T.K. shouted to no one. "Yeah, but he doesn't make bows look good as you do!" Lola shouted. "Ha, ha. Good one, sis," Lana laughed. T.K. froze with embarrassment before finally saying something, "Bruh, seriously? 


	2. Dire Changes

T.K. pulled the bows down and proceeded downstairs towards basement. Just like Leni said, there was Lincoln and Clyde, playing Ultra Squash Nephews. 4. "Link, Clyde!" T.K. called, catching the boys' attention. "Hey, T.K.," Lincoln and Clyde greeted their friend.

There an error sound from the video game, indicating that boys failed to beat the final boss, "FAILURE!" "Ah, man. It took us two hours to get to him," Lincoln complained. "Yeah, no kidding. T.K., why is your hair like that?" Clyde inquired. "Oh this? Leni did for me this morning. What do ya think?" T.K. asked, making a pose. "It looks like your trying to smuggle two large tarantulas on your head," Lincoln compared. The two boys laughed after that little shot. T.K. wasn't amused, "Ha...ha...ha. Funny. Scoot, Old Man Loud. I'm going to school you," T.K. threatened, grabbing another controller.

After that, T.K. was true to his word. He ended up 10-0 after an hour an a half of playing. "Man, 'K, how did you get so good?" Lincoln asked. T.K smirked. "Ha ha, young grasshopper. Ancient African secret." "Young? T.K., we're the same age," Lincoln deadpanned.

Lynn rushed down to where the boys were at with an excited look on her face. "Hey, guys! Papa Wheelie and the others are going to the bike park. Wanna come with us?" Lynn asked. "I'm down," Lincoln piped, dashing towards his room to get his helmet. "What about you two?" Lynn pried.

"I would but my dads took the bike for an all day riding session," Clyde responded. "No worries, bruh. Wait for me while go get my cruiser; you can just ride with me. But be warned, I do go fast." T.K. informed. Clyde's expression brightened, "Thanks, T.K.," "No prob. Lynn, you and the others go on to the park. I'll go home, get my bike, come back to get Clyde, and come up to the park," T.K. instructed. "Alright, T. See you and Clyde later," Lynn called.

A half hour later, the kids were having a blast at the park. Doing tricks, pulling pranks, and simply riding. They decide to go get ice cream, and reminisce all the punishments they gotten over the years. "Once my mom found out that it was me, she confiscated all my stuff. She made me do chores to earn everything back; it took me two months," Papa Wheelie narrated.

"So your Mama basicially made a store out your stuff. Heavy, man," T.K. laughed along with the others. Papa Wheelie's face shone red with embarrassment, "Oh yeah, Lowryder? You have a better story?" "As of matter of fact, I do," T.K. chimed, finishing off his Kodiak bar. "Alright, boys and girl. When I used to get in trouble, my dad made go get a switch," T.K. explained.

"Uh, Lowryder? What's a switch?" Rusty Spokes asked. "Basically a long, thick stick you have go get when your parents don't feel like finding a belt," T.K. informed. "Anywho, I decided to smarten up and grab thinner switches. I thought my dad never caught on until one day, he knew all along. He waited until I grabbed enough switches to make one, giant super switch," T.K. narrated.

After T.K. said that, a police car came roaring by, sirens blaring. "Huh. I wonder what happened?" Flat Tire pondered, watching the cop car disappeared around the corner. "Yeah, that cop car is heading over the general direction that Link and I lived in," Lynn informed. "Odd. Long story short, my Pops made hard for your boy to sit for a while," T.K. finished, slapping his butt for comedic effect.

The others laughed at that playful display. After the laughter dies down, Clyde checked his watch, "Oh my gosh! It's almost six. My parents is probably at home getting ready for dinner! T.K., can you take me home?" "I got chu, fam. Say, Link can I eat over your house?" T.K. asked. "Sure, T. I just have to tell Mom and Dad about it." Lincoln explained. Lynn nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure they won't mind about it, 'K." "Awesome! Alright, Clyde. Let's roll," T.K. instructed.

The sun had set past the tree as T.K. approached the Loud house. In the dark infused distance, he could make out another car behind Vanzilla. It was black and white, and it had red and blue strobe lights. "It that the same fed from earlier?" T.K. pondered to himself, setting his bike down.

As he planted his on the porch step, the door opened to Mr. and Mrs. Loud, and a police officer. "As soon as he gets here officer, we'll let hin know," Mr. Loud promised. "He's not going to like it. Not one bit," Mrs. Loud warned, turning her head to T.K.

The officer followed her eyes and found the boy in question. "Son. Are you Terrence Kelli Mutombo?" The officer inquired. T.K. nodded his head. "Yes, sir. But I go by T.K. The middle name irks me," T.K. informs. "Fair enough. Son, I'm afraid that have some tragic news for you," The officer spoke. "What do you mean? Am I in trouble?" T.K. pried nervously. "No, sweetie. It's nothing like that. Just come in and he'll explain everything," Mrs. Loud told him, parting the way for him. "Ok," T.K. sighed, entering the house.

On his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of Lincoln and the girls snooping at the top of the stairs; however he paid no attention to that. He proceeded to the couch and hopped on it. "T.K., there's no other way to explain this, so I'm going to cut to the chase. At 5:15, your father, Bruce, was gunned down and killed by an unknown teenager in Detroit," The cop retained from memory.

It was a punch to the face and gut simultaneously to T.K. "WHAT!? Why would anyone would shoot someone in broad daylight? This gotta to be a joke," T.K. retorted in denial. It pained to Mr. and Mrs. Loud to see T.K. like this. "T.K., this cop is not joking. Your father's dead, it even showed up on the news earlier tonight," Mr. Loud proved the cop's story.

T.K. began to become teary-eyed, "Please, let this be a nightmare that I can wake up from," "The bullet hit him in the heart. He died before help could get there to save him. Again, I'm sorry son," The cop griefed, putting his hand on T.K.'s shoulder.

"SORRY!? Say that to my father, who is pushin' up daisies as we speak!" T.K. roared, brushing off the cop's hand. He then hopped off the couch and sprinted to the door. "T.K., wait! Don't leave! Please, let us help you," Lincoln pleaded, racing downstairs to stop him. He was too late as T.K. rushed out the door, "Leave me alone, bruh!"

T.K. pedaled his griefing heart out across town and into the forest. He trekked through the forest to his secret spot. He tossed down his bike and stomped back and forth, muttering like a mad man. He began punching everything in sight, ranging from the ground, trees, rocks, and the little pond that he was near by.

He punched and punched until his hands was raw. Exhausted, he dropped to his knees and let out a primal scream of anger, sadness, and helplessness. The poor boy formed a fetal position and cried into his knees.

"Come on, girls. T should be this way," Lincoln ordered, following the fresh bike tracks on the ground. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," A scream bellowed, causing him and the girls to huddled together. "What was that?! Was that a bear," Leni shouted. Lisa rolled her eyes, "Negative, that scream was 100% homo saipen." "She's right, dudes. The scream sounded deep too, which means little T is that way," Luna concluded, pointing ahead of the group.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's find 'em!" Lana exclaimed. The kids charged ahead, deeper in the woods. "I hate the woods at night. It's too dark and scary," Lola whined, shining her flashlight ahead cautiously. "Aw, that's too bad, sis. That's how the boogeyman hunts little kids like you," Lana teased, scaring her sis. Lola pushed her,"Quit it, Lana!" "You quit it," Lana repeated, pushing her back.

Lincoln stood in between the two girls, "Both of you, stop it now! You don't want T.K. to hear you," Lincoln warned. "Sorry, Lincoln," The twins apologized. Lynn heard crying in the distance, "You guys hear crying?" "Yeah, I see something too. It must be T.K.," Lori pointed out. "Ok, girls. We need to approach this calmly. T.K. isn't coping so hot with this," Lincoln instructed. They nodded their heads. The group advanced onward to the secret spot and found T.K.

"Whoa. I've never heard about this spot before," Luna whispered. "Yeah, and check out the pond. It makes one stop and pond-er about any other forest secrets. Ha ha, get it?" Luan giggled. The others groaned in response. "Really?" Lisa deadpanned. "Just trying to make light of the situation," Luan responded, shrugging her shoulders.

T.K. noticed the collective groans and turned his head towards the group. There was an awkward silence as the Louds took in T.K.'s dismayed appearance. They were so used to T.K's bold personality that it was heartbreaking to see him like this. Lincoln stepped in front, "Hold my flashlight. I'm going in," Lincoln stated, as Lana took the flashlight.

Lincoln walked towards T.K. He was afraid that T.K. would try anything, but he just stared. The closer he got, the longer he stared. Finally, after an eternity, Lincoln hugged him and never let go. T.K. broke down once again as the girls proceeded towards him to add on the hugs.

After 10 minutes, they broke the group hug. "You want to spend the night with us?" Lincoln asked. T.K. nodded his head, "Yeah," All kids traveled the long walk home. T.K. may lost his father, but he know that there's a family right by his side on every step of the way.


	3. We Hungry

Lincoln was worried. He nor Clyde hadn't seen T.K. for two weeks. After the murder, the orphan was moved to an foster home, under the care of Sandra Leemick. "I wouldn't blame him if he needs time alone. Poor guy," Lincoln thought as he continued his classwork. The bell rung, the dismissing the class to lunch. In the hallway, he founded Clyde and joined him. "Any sign of T.K., Clyde?" Lincoln asked. Clyde shook his head, "Nope. He's really taking his death hard." "Yeah, from what I seen and heard from T.K. himself, they were like best friends," Lincoln explained, pushing the doors to the cafeteria.

Across the cafeteria, there sat T.K. at their usual spot, eating a burger. Surprised, Lincoln and Clyde rushed to the table. "Hey ya'll! What's good?" T.K. greeted them with a mouth full of burger. "Good to see you back, man! You feel better?" Lincoln asked, slapping hands and sharing a bro hug with T.K. "Yeah, are you?" Clyde pried, getting his bro hug in as well. T.K. rolled his eyes, "I told you guys time and time again, I'm fine." The duo took in T.K.'s apperance: his hair was disheveled, his eyes were red from lack of sleep, and he smelled like he hadn't have a bath in weeks.

"T.K. is something going on over at the foster home? You looked worse for wear," Lincoln interrogated, plugging his nose from T.K.'s stank. "Nope. Everything's peachy over there," T.K. lied, putting on a straight face. Clyde rose an eyebrow, "Are you sure? You really do look terrible." "Bros, I'm fine. Nobody gonna break me down," T.K. lied, finishing the last of his burger and starting on another one. Lincoln was unconvinced, "T.K., you're lying. You always flare your nostrils when you're lying. Please, let us help you." The worried faces on those two were getting to him. He had to tell them. If no one knew, then there was no chance of getting out of that hellhole.

"Alright, I'll confess. Leemick is the devil, ya'll! The first day wasn't so bad. The second day is when it really goes down. She had us working like those orphans from little orphan Betty. Scrubbing the floors, cleaning the windows, and rubbing her rough, calloused feet. UGH, that's the worse. On top of that, she rarely feeds us and she never has any running water," T.K. explained, growing angrier by the minute.

Lincoln and Clyde were shocked at the horrendous story. "That's terrible! Have you guys called the police?" Lincoln questioned. T.K. shook his head, "No use. She's in the feds' good graces, and on top of that, we need evidence before they can do anything." "That stinks, man! What are you going to do?" Clyde asked. "Probably run away. I heard that one of the older kids is running sometime this weekend," T.K. informed.

Lincoln's eyes widen, "That's insane, T! Do you know where you're going to go?" "No, but I rather be on the run than spending every waking minute under that roof," T.K. retorted. The bell rung, signaling the boys to go to class. Lincoln was halted by T.K.'s hand on his shoulder, "Hey, can I come over for the day? I don't want to go back to the house. And keep this between you, me, and Clyde. I don't want your parents nor your sisters to worry about me." "Sure, T. Your secret's safe with me," Lincoln reassured.

Lincoln managed to sneak T.K. home, and they are currently in his room. "Ok, first things first. You need a bath because the smell is setting my nosehairs on fire," Lincoln declared.

"Duly noted. Got any clothes I can borrow?" T.K. asked. "Sure, here," Lincoln answered, giving him a black Ace Savvy t-shirt with black jean shorts. "Thanks man. Guess I'm going commando," T.K. chuckled. "Ew. Hurry, before someone takes the bathroom," Lincoln warned. T.K. opened the door and snuck out.

Ten minutes later, Lori peeked her head inside Lincoln's room. "Hey, twerp. Who's in the bathroom?" She inquired. "Oh...uh, T.K." He answered. Lori looked confused, "Why is he using the shower? Doesn't the foster home have one of their own?" "Uh...he said that the water pipes burst," Lincoln lied, silently praying that T.K. hurry up.

Said prayers were answered as T.K. popped under Lori, scaring her. "Ahhhh, I feel better already. Thanks for the shower, bro," T.K. expressed his gratitude. "When did yo- Ugh! Nevermind. Link, Mom said dinner's ready, so wash up. I guess T.K. can eat too," Lori spoke, leaving the room. Lincoln reached for his shirt, "T, go on without me. I'll be a sec." T.K. nodded his head and left the room.

Downstairs, the other Louds were surprised at T.K.'s sudden appearance; nonetheless, they were happy that he recovered. T.K. helped the others set up the table. "Alright, everyone. Dig in! Tonight's fried chicken night," Mr. Loud announced. "Fried...chicken," T.K. whispered, hypnotized by his father's favorite dish.

Mrs. Loud noticed, "T.K., dear, is everything ok?" "Ma'am?" T.K. said, snapping out of his trance. "Yeah, dude. You were looking at that piece of chicken pretty hard," Luna explained.

"I guess you can say that he was chicken it out. Ha, ha, get it," Luan quipped. The others groaned while Mr. Loud chuckled, "Good one, honey!" "Thanks, dad," Luan responded. "So anyway, how's everyone's day been? Obviously, all of us have interesting stories to tell," Lincoln proposed, taking the attention off of T.K.

This sparked off a multitude of stories and conversations around the table. In midst of this, T.K. looked over to Lincoln and bowed his head as a way of saying thanks. Lincoln responded with a wave of his hand as a way of saying your welcome. "So T.K., how was your day?" Mr. Loud asked. "Dang it," T.K. thought.

"It's been uneventful, to say the least. Aside from a week long book fair, nothin' else had been goin' down," T.K. stated. "A book fair? What did you buy?" Mrs. Loud pried. "Just some new Spaghetti Legs horror books, that's all." T.K. answered. "Spaghetti Legs, nice. So Lincoln, what did you buy?" Mr. Loud asked. "Just a brand new Ace Savvy comic," Lincoln answered.

"Well, time for me to hit the dusty ole trail," T.K. yawned, getting up to go wash his plate. "Don't you want some chicken for the road, son?" Mr. Loud proposed. "No thanks, sir," T.K. declined.

"Wait a sec, I thought you said that the water pipes in your foster home burst," Lori pointed out. T.K. was confused, "I did? Oh, I did, yeah. Um-hm. It only flooded the basement, we sleep on the top floor." Lori wasn't convinced about the lie, but she let it slide for now. "So anyway, let me thank ya'll for your hospitality, and I'll be out," T.K. informed, proceeding to the kitchen.

Later that night, Lori called for a quick emergency meeting in her room. "Ok the subject of the matter is T.K. Have any of you notice how odd he's acting lately?" Lori asked. "Yeah, he's not his usual dancing self," Lynn chimed. "And he's not wearing those cute skate shoes with the little wheels," Leni added.

"There could be one reason he's acting like this," Lori suggested. All of the girls turned their heads towards Lincoln, who was reading his new comic. Lincoln notices, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" "Don't play dumb, Lincoln. Do you know what's up with T.K.?" Lola interrogated, pulling the comic down. "I haven't had the slightest idea. In fact, today's the first time I had seen him after two weeks." Lincoln explained.

"Oh I think you do know more, unless you want me to take this comic to Lily," Lori threatened, snatching the comic. Lincoln reached for his comic, "Hey, give that back, Lori! You wouldn't dare!" "Oh really. Try me, Link, try me," Lori deadpanned. "Ugh, fine. But you all not going to like it," Lincoln warned.

Lincoln told them everything: the starvation, no running water, and the lack of helpful cops. Surprise and anger appeared on the girls' faces as they soaked in the details. "So that's it? There's nothing that the cops can do?" Lynn asked, trying to stay calm. Lincoln shook his head, "T.K. said that Leemick is in good with them and they need evidence in order to do something." "That's literally unacceptable. The evidence should be on those foster kids' faces," Lori groaned.

"Yeah dude. You heard what Link said. They're starving, reeking, and being worked like slaves," Luna chimed. "Like, is T.K. going to do anything about it?" Leni questioned. "Not that I've heard of," Lincoln lied, keeping T.K.'s secret of running away under wraps. Lori looked at her clock, "Alright, everyone, it's close to bedtime. Without any futher ado, this court is adjourned." 


	4. Plan to Freedom

"Alright you worms! Up and at 'em, you're wasting valuable sunlight," A female voice ordered, turning on a bright light that illuminated the room full of foster children. T.K. squinted his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.

There at the door stood the wolf in sheep's clothing, Sandra Leemick. "Alright, I want this half of the room to clean the attic, while this side pluck the weeds in the garden," Leemick designated, scoping the room for any funny business. "Thank God. There's too many ants in the garden," T.K. thought, relieved of getting the less stressful job. "Well, what are you waiting for, Christmas?" Hop to it, maggots!" Leemick barked.

"So you're really running tomorrow night? No funny business, brah?" T.K. asked one of the older kids. Wayne nodded his head, "I might as well because nothing for me here, and it's a dead end for anyone stupid enough to stay."

T.K. clicked with Wayne because their similar reasons of being parentless. "So what are you going to do once your free?" T.K. asked sweeping the attic floor. Wayne shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, travel out of this state, travel across the country, you know, generic reasons." Wayne looked towards his left and his right, like his was making sure that no one was snooping.

When it seemed that the coast was clear, he waved T.K. over to him, drawing him closer. "You know, I have a feeling that Leemick is not what she seems," Wayne whispered into T.K.'s ear. "Yeah, like she doesn't work us to the bone, or treated us like were hostile aliens, or even rarely feed us and even when she does, the food is comparable to likes of prison," T.K. deadpanned.

"Of course that! But really, yesterday, while I was sweeping the foyer, she was talking to a guy in her office," Wayne informed. "Yeah, she talks to a lot of guys. She probably gets around a lot," T.K. theorized, dumping the dust pan's contents into the trash.

"Not like that, young buck. After they were talking, they went outside and grabbed lil' Jodie. They came inside and grabbed his things. In midst of this, Jodie was kicking and screaming, so the guy knocked him out with a simple head butt. After that, the guy gave her a large sum of money and he left. T.K., I think were part of a child labor ring," Wayne recalled.

"That's absolutely insane! There hadn't been anything like this since ever!" T.K. stated. "Shhhh! Keep your voice down! T.K., I know what I saw, and if you don't believe me, you're welcome to come with me to her office to find something," Wayne dared.

T.K. took a second to process everything. Could taking a peek around the office could really give them "evidence" needed to expose Leemick for what she is? Oh well, you only live once. "Let's do this! But when should we do this, Wayne?" T.K. inquried. "Tonight. She always leave for the night to drink and play poker with her ring members," Wayne replied.

Later on, true to Wayne's word, Leemick left for a night of partying and drinking on the town. The duo stood outside of Leemick's office, pondering their next move. "How are going to get in?" T.K. asked. Wayne reached for the doorknob and twisted it. To their surprise, it opened. "Huh, guess she ain't the one for covering her tracks," Wayne noted, walking into the office. T.K. followed him, "You ain't lying."

The office was small, like it could only contain three people. It only had a desk, two chairs, a shelf behind the desks, and a window. "Not much to look. Ok, start with the desk," Wayne ordered. They proceeded behind the desk and opened the smallest drawer. It only contain the bills and the sort, so no luck there. They look down to the two bigger and lower drawers. The right drawer was locked, so they started on the left. The drawer had all of the children's profiles in one huge folder, so nothing would helpful there. But the drawer had a secret stash of money. The boys took ten dollars each because of obvious reasons. "She really needs to find a better hiding spot," T.K. thought.

They turned their heads to the locked drawer. "Ok, how the hell we're going to open this," Wayne spoke. T.K. closed his eyes and think of something. Wayne got up and began to walk towards the door, "Screw this! I'm getting a hammer." "Wayne, wait! I have an idea," T.K. stated, pulling out a bobby pin. "A bobby pin? T.K., now's not the time to be hairdressing," Wayne deadpanned. "I'm not hairdressin', brah. I'm doing what my beautician showed me a few weeks ago," T.K. corrected, jiggling the pin inside of the lock. Wayne look dumbfounded, "To pick a lock?" "Weird, huh? She doesn't look like the sort to do this, nor she ain't the sharpest," T.K. explained, concentrating on the lock.

CLICK!

The lock came off with ease as Wayne dropped his jaw. "Wow, remind me to visit her," Wayne droned. T.K. chuckled, "Alright, brah. Let's see what ole 'Mick been hiding!" He opened the drawer and all was there left was a large green notebook. There was nothing on it except for the word, "PLANS." "Hm, odd? Wonder what she need this for?" T.K. asked Wayne. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good. Come on, put the lock back and let's head upstairs." Wayne ordered.

That's where the boys found more info about the alleged "child labor ring." There was info about the kids, prices were given for the stronger kids, and weaker kids were deemed ineligible and left for dead. "This is terrible. It's like we're property to her and nothing else," T.K. explained, angered from the unspeakable horror.

"No, this is hope. We finally have what we need to put Leemick behind bars for good. We just need to hide this from her," Wayne instructed. T.K. nodded, "Agreed. Look, there's articles about the same thing, but in other cities." "Yeah. Obviously, this isn't her first ballpark, and this another reason to run away," Wayne informed.

Just then, they hear the door slammed. "Leemick's back!" Wayne called. "Quick, hide it under the floorboards," T.K. ordered, lifting the board up. "Good idea," Wayne complimented. The boys got the job done and was in bed in seconds. 


	5. Run

Tonight's is the night. Wayne was already long gone after he found out that he was next to be sold. He waited until Leemick left for the night as usual; afterwards, he made his move.

"First, I could go downstairs and look for some food to take with me. Then, I can head back to the house to get clothes, and supplies. Finally, I'll head down to the bus stop and ride the late bus," T.K. listed, putting everything, including the notebook inside his knapsack. He zipped it up and placed it on his back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Alright, let's do this!" T.K. declared, jogging downstairs.

He searched all over the kitchen, but there was nothing to be found. T.K. was going to call it quits until he gazed upon a locked drawer. "Hmm, another locked drawer. Welp, bobby pin, time to do your stuff!" T.K. smugly thought, inserting the pin and began to work his magic.

CLICK!

If there was one word to explain this, it would be JACKPOT! Abandon Chips, Galaxy Bites, and Toritos as much as the eye can see. T.K. was starstruck at this, "Oh my stars and gutters, she been holding out on us, which explains the empty bags in her trash can."

He wasted no time in stealing most of everything in the drawer. When he was done, he pushed the drawer back and replaced the lock. "Now that little insurance's settled. Let's be out!" T.K. exclaimed, crawling out of the doggie door and disappearing into the night.

Getting home was the easy part, but getting inside was difficult. Police tape decorated the house, and it was deemed unhabitable by the city. T.K. tried the front and back door, but to no avail. "Wait, have they lock the windows?" T.K. thought curiously. All the locked windows answered his question.

T.K. became frustrated but he realized something, "Did they locked mine?" T.K. crept towards his bedroom window, avoiding to be mistaken as a robber. He grabbed the bottom as pushed up. The window slid up effortlessly and silently. "Ha, I knew that not listening to Pops would come in handy," T.K gloated, becoming sad at the mention of his father. "Hope...that I'm doin' the right thing, Daddy," T.K. prayed internally, as he climbed in to gather his stuff.

Six pairs of clothes, four pairs of shoes, one thousand dollars and along with the ten dollars he stole, and one toothbrush later, T.K. was impatiently waiting on the late bus. "Ugh, I hate waiting on this stupid bus. It takes forever!" T.K. complained, taking out his G.S. to entertain himself. He became bored with that after that, and he tried to practice his Capoeira. He stopped after he fell flat on his back after a failed spinning jump kick. Later, he hid from what thought was Leemick, it was just a middle aged woman having a midnight jog. The Sandman was taking it toll on T.K., as he struggled to stay awake. "Come on, wake up man! The quicker you sleep, the eas-"

HOOOOONNNNKKKK!

The sleep-induced T.K. jolted awake, taking out his nunchucks. "Who's there?! Tell me, or I'll beat the brakes off of ya!" T.K. threatened, tired out of his mind.

"No worries, I won't hurt you Bruce Lee Roy. Now, you need a ride to someplace?" The bus driver asked.

T.K. nodded his head, "Yes, please, and thank you."

"Say, it's a school night. Shouldn't you be at home asleep?" The bus driver questioned, looking at T.K. closely.

"Shouldn't you know that its bad to be involved in other people's business?" T.K. deadpanned.

The bus driver raised his hands in defeat, "Sheesh, I was just asking. Where to, kid?"

"Just get me out of this town, pronto," T.K. ordered, setting his stuff down and getting comfortable.

The bus driver nodded his head, "Deal."

At three o' clock in the morning, there was a knock at the Loud House. Mr. and Mrs. Loud answered tiredly, "Who could at the door at this hour?" They opened the door, and was Leemick with one police officer.

"Sorry to disturb you two? Have you seen T.K.? I came back home from caring for elderly, and found out that he was missing!" Leemick exclaimed, putting on fake air of sadness.

"Missing? Did he ran away, Ms. Leemick?" Mr. Loud asked, snapping out of his sleep trance.

Leemick nodded, "I suppose so. This tends to happen to those who are unable to cope without their parents."

Just as this was happening, Lincoln walked out of his room to get a glass of water. He looked downstairs and found his parents, an unknown person, and a cop.

"What's going on? Who's that with the cop?" Lincoln thought, stepping out of sight and listening in at the top.

"Whatever happens, I hope that you can find T.K., Ms. Leemick. He's a sweet boy, and he's really going to hurt himself out there," Lincoln overheard his mother say.

"He actually did it. T.K.'s gone! I need to tell someone. He could get hurt!" Lincoln thought fearfully, sneaking towards Lori's and Leni's room. He knocked on it and waited. Seconds later, Lori answered it with an extremely unhappy look.

"You'd better have an perfect explantion on why you're literally banging on our door like a psycho!" Lori warned, staring down Lincoln.

"Yes, I do. T.K. ran away, Lori!" Lincoln announced.

Her expression softened, "What? Ran away, what do you mean he ran away?"

Lincoln facepalmed, "Seriously?! Lori, the guy is on the run as we speak! M.I.A., missing in action!

Lori took a second to process all of this. "So if he did ran off, how'd did you know?" She pried.

"For crying out loud, Lori! Downstairs, Mom and Dad is speaking with Leemick and a cop. Go take look outside if you don't believe me," Lincoln ordered.

One look later, she realized that Linc was right. "Oh my god, he's actually gone?!" Lori inquired, becoming scared by the second.

"Yeah, I told you so!" Lincoln replied sarcastically.

"Well, what do we do, genius?" Lori asked.

"We'll waited until everyone else is awake. Then, we'll break the news," Lincoln proposed.

Lori nodded her head, "Alright!" She headed back inside her room.

Lincoln went back to his room and got under his comforter. "Please, T.K., please take care of yourself," He prayed, going back to sleep.


	6. On The Run

The next morning, the bus was soon in another town. T.K. was having the best sleep ever since being in the foster home. He dreamed of him and his father fishing, just like the good old days. The lake was calm and filled to the brim with fishes.

"Remember the time that to nearly burned yourself trying to use the grill? You'd stayed in the ice bath for hours," Bruce recalled, tossing his lure into the lake.

T.K. rolled his eyes, "How could I ever forget that? Took me a year to grow everything back."

"Don't be a killjoy, young buck. At least you're ok; aside from lookin' like a naked mole rat." Bruce chuckled.

T.K. felt a tug on his fishing pole. Excited, he quickly reeled in and caught...a sardine. "Just my luck. My pops is roasting me and I've caught the 'David' of fishes," T.K. deadpanned, unhooking the fish and tossing it back into the lake.

Bruce shrugged his shoulders, "At least you've caught something. But now, it's time to wake up, Terrence."

"Say what, Sir?" T.K. asked.

"Wake up, Terrence," Bruce repeated again as fog crept behind him.

T.K. shook his head rapidly, "No! No, no, no, no! I've just seen you! I don't wanna go back out there!"

"Sorry to tell you this son, but you need to conquer big challenges without me. I may be gone physically, but not spiritually. You may take a while on this, but there's other family than blood." Bruce explained, grasping a strong hand on T.K.'s shoulder.

"B-But, b-b-but-," T.K. sputtered, becoming a wreck by the second.

Bruce's face became firm, "No buts. Mutombos don't crack under pressure, we grow and demolish it. Now wake up."

T.K. nodded and closed his eyes. A bright light engulfed him.

"Hey, hey, kid. We're outta town. Just like you asked," The bus driver recalled, shaking the boy awake.

"Huh, where are we?" T.K. pried, looking out of the window. The bus had stopped in front of a cozy diner. There's a gas station, a post office, and a town square, giving it a close-knit town feeling.

"We're in Barkley, which is 8 miles away from Royal Woods. Say, you ok? Looks like you've been crying, kid?" The bus driver pointed out.

T.K. felt his face, there are dried streaks where his tears had been. "Yeah, just personal stuff, nothing to worry about," T.K. reassured, getting his stuff together.

The bus driver slowly nodded his head, "Uh..huh. Well, I hope you find what you needed."

"Likewise, sir," T.K. agreed, giving the bus fare to the driver and proceeding off of the bus.

"He'd WHAT!?" The Loud kids exclaimed, even a few of them spitted out their cereal.

Lori nodded her head, "Link's telling the truth, girls. T.K. ran off last night to god knows where."

"I wouldn't blame 'em. I would ran away, too," Lana stated.

Lola rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Lana. You wouldn't last a day."

"I can last longer than you, twinkle toes," Lana snarked.

"Nuh-uh, fart face," Lola fought back.

"Yeah-huh, Princess Gappy," Lana snapped, rising out of her seat.

"Girls, seriously? It's way too early in the morning for this," Lincoln groaned, rubbing his eyes.

The twins softened their faces and tones, "Sorry, Lincoln."

"Going back to the subject at hand, how are we going to find T.K.? He can't go back to that place," Lucy questioned, writing in her journal.

"We could place a picture of him on a milk carton like on the T.V. shows," Lynn proposed, feeding Lily her food.

"That's a good start, dude. Anything else?" Luna asked.

"Oh, how about having little birds, like, fly around town to search for T?" Leni pried.

The others gave her confused looks from her odd question

Leni becomes nervous, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No. But I think you meant utilizing flyers to increase our chances of finding T.K." Lisa answered.

Lori nodded her head, "Good idea! Anything else?"

"How about a town wide search for him. That way, we can have a literal manhunt! Ha, ha, get it?" Luan quipped as the others groaned.

"Alright, then it's settled! We'll search for T.K. after breakfast! Agreed?" Lincoln inquired, going upstairs to get dressed.

"Yeah!" The others cheered. 


	7. Hope (Pt1)

After breakfast, the Louds began their search for T.K.: Lori, Leni, and Luna drove around in Vanzilla, Luan, Lynn, and Lincoln rode on bikes with Luan riding with Lynn, and Lucy, Lola, Lana, and Lisa trekked on foot. They placed flyers on telephone poles, put a missing person report on the every milk carton and newspaper, and they just asked people around town. So far nothing had turned up, but they weren't willing to give up yet.

"Oh, I hope we'll find T.K. soon. He could out there lost, cold, or even hungry," Leni lamented, feeling sad for T.K.'s predicament.

Luna patted her back in reassurance, "We will, love. We just need to keep our heads up and stay strong."

Lori surveyed the entrie scene. She felt sad that the little guy ran off, but she can respect his decision for doing it for obvious reasons. "Hey girls. Let's try to kill off the sad atmosphere by trying remembering all the good times we had with T.K.," Lori proposed, raising the girls' spirits.

"Hey, that's a good idea, bro. But who should go first?" Luna asked.

"Let me, let me go! Please, Lori?" Leni pleaded, putting on puppy eyes.

Lori playfully rolled her eyes, "Alright, Leni. You have the stage."

"Stage? But we're in a van," Leni corrected.

Luna facepalmed, "Just tell your memory, dude."

"Oh, okay! Uhmmmmm," Leni hummed.

" _Leni, are you almost done? My arms are about to give out," T.K. complained as his entire body squirmed in pain._

" _Oh pipe down, T. I'm almost finished with your new swim trunks. When they're finished, anyone that look at you won't help but be jealous and throw shadows at you," Leni predicted._

 _T.K. looked confused from what she said. "You mean throw shade?" T.K. corrected._

" _Ohhhh, that's how you say it. Ok, I'm finished! Take a look in the mirror, you handsome man," Leni instructed._

 _T.K. blushed as walked towards the mirror. The trunks were navy blue, and had a stripe on the side. The stripe had a floral design on the inside, and the design was white. She was right, people were going to throw jealousy shade towards his trunks (or Leni's case, jealousy shadows.)_

" _Wow, chica, you have a natural knack for this. This is awesome!" T.K. complimented, strutting his stuff._

 _Leni's face brightened, "Really! You mean it?"_

" _One hundred per-cent, 'Ni," T.K. answered._

" _EEEEEEE! Thank you, thank you, thank you, T.K.! That's totes made my day!" Leni informed, grabbing T.K. in a bear hug._

" _Aack! Your wel...come," T.K. wheezed, surprised at the sudden affection._

 _Leni realized that she's choking him and lets go, "Oops, sorry. Kinda got excited there."_

" _Gee, ya think? So how much do I owe you?" T.K. croaked, picking himself off of the floor._

 _Leni tilted her head, "Owe me? It's a gift, T.K. Just my way of saying thanks."_

" _Thanks for what?" T.K. quizzed._

" _For being such a good friend to Lincoln, silly cheeks," Leni explained, pulling on T.K.''s cheeks._

 _T.K. blushed again, "Yeah, no prob. Look, I'm going to change now, if you don't mind."_

Lori and Luna felt warm from that memory. "That actually warmed me up on the inside. Thanks, sis," Luna expressed.

"Oh ho ho, silly cheeks? I'm literally going to get so much mileage outta that," Lori chuckled.

"Well, guess I'm next, dudes," Luna announced.

 _She and T.K. were doing a cover of one of Luna's favorite songs. Surprisingly, T.K. opted for the mic, whlie Luna was playing her acoustic guitar. "Standing on the rooftops, everyone scream your HEAAAAAART out. Standing on the rooftops, everyone scream your HEAAAAAART out. Standing on the rooftops, everyone scream your HEAAAAAART out. This is what we got now, everyone scream your", T.K. sang as Luna strummed the last part of the song._

" _Wow, that's was AWESOME, T! I didn't know you sing like that!" Luna exclaimed, putting her axe down._

 _T.K. shrugged his shoulders, "That's because you never asked, chica. Besides, I'm alright at singin', unlike dancin'."_

" _I've been meaning to ask you dude. How'd you get into dancing, anyway?" Luna pried as she sat down on her bed._

" _It was a choreography video I watched about five years ago. The movements were so powerful and fluid that I became hooked instantly. At first, I sucked at it. Then time goes on, and I slowly became better and better at it." T.K. answered, leaning against the bed legs._

 _Luna nodded, "Nice, bro. One more question. How do you feel about dancing?"_

 _T.K. took a second to think about it. What was dancing to him?_

" _Dancing...to me makes feel free. The more I get into it, the more unbounded I feel. It also feels powerful, like I can walk up to the most feared boxer and punch him in the face," T.K. explained, grabbing his fist with his free hand._

 _Luna giggled, "Punch him in the face?! You're one fierce lil' bugger, aren't cha?_

" _The fiercest! Oh, can you play "Dirty Diana by Mickey Jackson"? I love that song!" T.K. asked._

 _Luna nodded, "If only you can do the lyrics."_

" _Got chu, chica," T.K. responded, picking up the microphone once more._

Lori's plan was working. She and the girls were loosening up. "Huh. T.K. listens to Mickey Jackson. Who woulda thunk?" Leni stated.

"Yeah, the more you know, huh? Alright, my turn," Lori declared.

 _It was down to one stock to one stock. Lori's character had little to no damage, while T.K.'s was close to launching damage._

" _Awwww, what's wrong, Kelli? Where's that Mutombo strength that you kept blabbering about," Lori snarked, performing a powerful attack that sent T.K.'s character flying._

 _T.K. gritted his teeth and sighed, "You just haven't seen it yet."_

 _T.K. was surprised that Lori challenged him to a game. He didn't know that she'd played any video games. He thought that she would be easy pickings, but...he was dead wrong. He had trouble keeping up with her, and she was performing things that T.K. only saw on montages on MeTube; however, he got his own fair shares of kills as well._

 _Lori rolled her eyes smugly, "Yeah right, more like never gonna see it."_

" _There's one more trick up my sleeve, but I doubt she'll go for it. But it's worth a shot," T.K. thought._

 _He maneuvered his character close to the ledge and waited for Lori. "Hmph, you're giving up? Not the most honorable win, but I'll take what I can get," Lori retorted, charging one final attack._

" _Well then, take this, chica!" T.K. shouted as he dodged the attack, and grabbed Lori's character. With a flick of a analog stick, T.K. sent his and Lori's character careening down offstage, netting T.K. the win._

 _Lori was dumbfounded, "I-, how did-, WHAT!?"_

" _Oh yeah! Get sum, get sum fo yo mama, chica!" T.K. gloated, performing a victory dance._

 _Lori finally snapped out of it, "What did you do and how did you took the win?!"_

" _Just a lil' sacrificial KO for you. He's the only character that can do that," T.K. answered._

 _Lori became frustrated, "Ugh. That's literally cheap, but I know now that you can't beat me straight up."_

" _Ohhhh, so you saying that you want a rematch?" T.K. inquried smugly._

" _Uh, yeah. What was your first clue, genius?" Lori deadpanned._

Leni and Luna burst out laughing at T.K.'s victory. "Pff ha ha! He won like that? I thought you knew everything about the game, 'Ri?" Luna remarked, holding her sides.

Lori sighed, "I DID! I just didn't care about that particular character because he wasn't interesting.

"And look where got you," Leni quipped, bursting out laughing with Luna.

"Look, can we just get back to finding the twerp?" Lori reminded the two.

"If, heh, you say so, love," Luna responded.

Across town, Luan, Lynn, and Lincoln weren't having any luck. "Well, thank you, sir. Have a nice play! Ha, ha, get it?" Luan joked, hopping on Lynn's bike.

"Any sign of 'em, Luan?" Lynn asked.

"Nope. The cashier at the arcade said that he hadn't seen T.K. since the day before yesterday," Luan answered.

"Well, scratch the arcade off of the list. Who knows where T could be?" Lincoln questioned.

The three rode around in silence for the next ten minutes until Lynn broke the silence, "Man, I miss T.K. He makes a good sparring partner."

Luan turned her head towards her, looking surprised, "You and T.K. sparred, Lynn?"

"Yeah, and his fighting style is really cool. Like he's dancing circles around me and beating me up at the same time," Lynn explained.

 _Lynn and T.K. were sparring at the backyard of the Loud House. It was warm and sunny, which was perfect for sparring. T.K. was doing everything he can to avoid being hit, which involved blocking, dodging, cartwheeling, jumping, twirling, and flipping. Lynn did get a few shots in, but they weren't well placed._

" _Come on, man! Are you holding out on me? Put some more force behind those kicks!" Lynn ordered, aiming a roundhouse kick towards his head._

 _T.K. ducked and somersaulted backwards for some breathing room. "She seemed real amped to get a good shot on me. Well, what's the worse that can happen? It ain't like she went through worse things; furthermore, she's putting a lot of power into her strikes, which is leaving her wide open," T.K. thought as Lynn charged him._

 _She threw a straight punch, which T.K. dodged again. But he grabbed her forearm and lifted her into the air, flinging her to the ground. Lynn recovered quickly and threw a middle kick. T.K. caught her kick, and with a simple toss, he sent her spiraling towards the ground. Frustrated, Lynn gather all of her strength and performed one final jumping kick. T.K. hardened his stance and caught the kick. With a swing of his leg, he sweeped her down to the ground._

 _Quickly, he cartwheeled onto Lynn with a death glare, holding her down. Raising his hand, he swung down to her neck with a knife hand chop._

" _Ah!" Lynn squealed, covering her eyes for the inevitable strike. It never came. She squinted down to her neck and saw T.K.'s hand close to it. She looked up to T.K., who face has softened and began to chuckle._

" _Pffff hahahahaHAAAA! Oh, man! You should have seen the look on yo face! "Ah!"" T.K. mocked, stepping off of Lynn._

" _Fine, laugh it up, laugh it up. I only did that because I thought that you were gonna go through with it," Lynn protested, crossing her arms and blushing._

 _T.K. nudged her, "Come on, you have to admit. That was pretty cool, right?"_

" _Hmph!" Lynn pouted._

" _Lynn," T.K. bugged._

 _Lynn turned away and pouted again, "Hmph!"_

" _Lynn Loud," T.K. proded._

" _Alright! It was pretty cool I guess," Lynn muttered, putting on a small smile._

" _That's tha spirit! Now let's go get some celebratory subs!" T.K. announced._

" _You had me at subs, bro," Lynn pointed out._

 _T.K. helped Lynn up and proceeded towards the kitchen door. T.K. had one more shot for Lynn._

" _And now you know how Lincoln feels," T.K. snarked._

 _That didn't sit well with Lynn as she punched him down the stairs. "Oof! Worth it. Ouch," T.K. wheezed._

Lincoln and Luan laughed at Lynn's memory. "Ha ha, that sounded awesome, Lynn," Lincoln complimented.

Luan giggled along with him, "Yeah, you could say that T.K. pulled no punches." She and Lincoln cracked up even more.

"Heh, that actually was funny, Luan. So do both of you have memories of your own?" Lynn wondered, placing another flyer on a telephone pole.

"I do! But warning, it can be a bit of a downer," Luan warned.

Lincoln placed his hand on her shoulder, "No worries, Luan. Fire away!"

 _Luan was practising her stand up comedy skills in her and Luna's room. She needed an audience, so that she could gauge the reactions. T.K. decided to volunteer in that department. Needless to say, it was pretty funny._

" _So the fish said to the other fish, "What! We have to find our own food?! You codda be kidding me!"" Luan phrased._

 _T.K. had to keep his composure, "Pffff heh heh heh heh ha."_

" _Thank you, you're too kind. Now what does a vegan really think when he listen to music?" Luan asked._

 _T.K. raised his hand, "I don't know! What does he think?"_

" _With these sick beets, I can really turn-ip! Ha, ha! Get it?" Luan pried_

" _Pfffff hahahahahaha...HAAAAA! That's golden, chica! Really golden!" T.K. praised_

 _Luan curtised, "Thank you, folks. I'm Luan Out Loud, goodnight!"_

 _T.K. applauded as she made her way to him. "So T.K., what did you think?" She asked, eager for his critique._

" _It's wonderful, chica. You know a way to a person's funny bone. My only gripe is that you have to gauge the audience because if you take too long on a joke, then they'll get bored." T.K. criticized._

 _Luan nodded, "Keep the jokes short and sweet, got it! Say, you wanna help me put all this stuff up?"_

" _Of course! It's the least I can do," T.K. responded._

 _The two put all of the equipment, the gags, and the props away. While doing this, Luan been meaning to ask T.K. something important. She waited until they were half way through, "T.K., I've been meaning to ask you something. Am I funny?"_

 _T.K. looked surprised. He personally thought that she was hilarious. Why would she question her comedic skills? "Heck yeah! Why would you asked something like that?" He pried._

 _Luan nervously rubbed her arms, "It's because every time that I make a pun or do a practical joke, people would always groan or get mad respectively . Luna, Lincoln, Mom, and Dad always reassured me. "It's nothing to worry about, Luan. You're funny in my eyes, dude. Sweetie, your were born with a natural talent; that talent is making people laugh." Is that the case because I'm not seeing it."_

 _T.K. processed all of this. She's going through a funk because everyone is reacting negatively to her jokes. He isn't a therapist, but he could try._

" _No! Luan, you are the funniest person that I know. People like that are just too serious to give a chuckle at your antics. Look at me, I've danced for while and I heard that dancing is a waste of time, it's uncouth, and it just weird. Those people throwin' shade are the ones that can't dance worth of bull doody. I'm saying this: Don't look for the reactions, just be happy that they're reacting at all," T.K. noted, winded after a long speech._

 _Luan brightened her mood, "Wow, that was inspiring! Thanks, T.K.! I really needed that."_

" _No prob, chica. Say what's this?" T.K. wondered, pulling a saw with glasses._

" _Oh, that's my see-saw," Luan answered, taking the saw from him._

 _That was that straw that broke the camel's back as T.K. burst out laughing even harder. "I'm gonna pee my pants, hahahaHAAAA!" T.K. exclaimed, rolling on the ground._

Lynn and Lincoln laughed as they pedal across town. "Ha, see saw! That's funny,' Lynn praised.

"I know, right? Where does she come up with this stuff?" Lincoln added.

Luan blushed, "Ah, stop it, guys. So Link, do you have any memories of T.K., since you've hang with him most of the time?

"Matter of fact, I do have one. It started on Halloween night, and me, Clyde, and T.K. were coming back from a town wide trick or treating extravaganza," Lincoln began.

 _It was 9:45 p.m. on a cool, crisp, and clear Halloween night. The trio made a promise to collect the most candy on Halloween. So far, they have fulfilled that by going to every house in town. Lincoln was dressed as a turtle ninja with a orange headband, Clyde was dressed as a heroic superhero with a black panther motif, and T.K. was dressed as a prisoner with actual hand and leg cuffs and a ball and chain (with help from his dad, of course.)_

" _Boys, I think we just made off with the Halloween of the century, and now, it's time to call it a night! Good job, Micheal and Negro Panthera," T.K. praised, eating a full size chocolate bar._

" _It's no problem, Jailbird," Lincoln responded, chomping on a few gummy bears._

" _Yeah, no problem," Clyde added, chewing on some gum._

 _The three suddenly stopped because of T.K. walked into something huge. The object in question was an older boy by the age of 15. He was an army soldier and he was wearing camouflage fatigues. He had several bags with him, which were likely stolen. The teen turned his head towards the boys, freezing them with a dark glare._

" _Oh, I'm...sorry, brah," T.K. apologized, dusting himself off._

" _I'm sorry? Oh, I'm sorry, too. Sorry that you'll be candyless on Halloween," The teen teased, taking T.K.'s, Lincoln's, and Clyde's bags of candy._

 _Clyde was enraged, "Our candy!"_

" _Hey, those aren't yours! Give them back, jerk," Lincoln ordered, racing towards the teenager._

 _His efforts were futile as the teen pushed him back towards the others with a simple shove of his hand. With that deed done, the bandit trekked off into the night._

" _Aw, man! Our candy," Lincoln exclaimed._

 _Clyde dropped to his knees, "Four hours, wasted. WHY!?"_

 _T.K. stood there frozen, "Did this fool take all of our candy?" He thought._

" _Lincoln, we really need to tell your sisters about this!" Clyde argued._

 _Lincoln shook his head, "Two things, Clyde: I don't want them to meddle, and if they were to actually help, the thief would be long gone now."_

 _T.K. slowly took off his leg cuffs and hung them around his neck. With that done, he took off in same direction as the thief._

" _T, where are you going?!" Lincoln asked._

 _T.K. looked back as he ran, "I'm going to get my candy back! Like Clyde said, I'm not wasting four hours of my life over some overgrown ape in army fatigues. Ya'll can head on home, but me? I'm going to get my stuff!"_

 _Lincoln and Clyde had no choice but to follow T.K. Since it was late, they only search around their neighborhood. It was becoming a hopeless cause until they found the bandit in a alley. They hid outside to avoid being seen._

" _Ok, so now what? We can't just ask,"Excuse me, sir? Can we have our candy back? because he obviously won't listen to reason," Lincoln explained, peeking from the wall._

 _Clyde nodded, "You're right. So, what's plan B?"_

 _In midst of this, T.K. slowly advanced upon the candy bandit with his ball and chain in hand. The bandit notices and stood in front of his treasures. "You again? You're obviously a sucker for punishment," The bandit sneered._

 _T.K. stood his ground, glaring at the bandit._

 _The bandit walked closer, confused at the boy's silence, "Why you ain't talking wimp? Cat got your tongue."_

 _When the bandit got close enough, T.K. threw the ball down with all of the strength he could, crushing the bandit's foot with a sickening crack. "Yeeeeowch!" The bandit squealed, dropping to his back._

 _Quickly, T.K. rushed behind him and grabbed his, Lincoln's, and Clyde's bags of candy. Afterwards, he sprinted back out of the alley._

" _Run!" T.K. shouted, tossing the boys their candy and speeding down the street._

 **Author's Note: Holy crap, I didn't realize that this chapter was so huge. I had to split it into two parts. I hope you enjoy this. See y'all on the next part!**

 **Dark Man Spectre, gone!**


	8. Hope (Pt2)

At the playground, Lola, Lana, and Lisa were informing various kids about T.K. Lucy was having a harder time due to her tendency to pop out off no where, scaring other kids. After an hour and a half, the quartet gather under a tree discuss their accomplishments.

"So. Did you girls found anything about T.K.?" Lucy asked.

Lola shook her head, "Lana and I asked all of our friends, but so far nothing."

"But we did give them flyers and asked them to keep an eye out for him." Lana reassured.

"This is becoming a lost cause! Of course, no one had seen the adolescent since he fled during the night. I wonder if the others are fairing better on their ends?" Lisa wondered.

Lucy looked towards the ground, "Sigh, I miss T.K. Like Lincoln, he was also a good listener."

The others turned their heads towards Lucy. "What was that, Luce? Speak up." Lana retorted.

"I mean that he listens to my poetry; furthermore, he helped me through a harsh time," Lucy explained.

 _Lucy was reciting one of her recent poems in her and Lynn's room. T.K. sat on the ground as read her final one. "Power. A burst of energy in your darkest hour. Anything negative you hear, you just devour. Like a mountain, you feel immobile. All of this power, it feels worthwhile," Lucy recited as T.K. applauded._

" _Beautiful, chica. That was really deep poetry," T.K. praised._

 _Lucy bowed, "Thank you, T.K. I'm glad you think that. It really lightens my black abyss of an heart."_

" _Uhhhhhhhuh. But real talk, you should really go public with this. You could become a poetic prodigy," T.K. informed, nudging her by the elbow._

 _Lucy looked to her poster, "Sigh, I wished I would, T.K. But I cannot handle those who are judgemental."_

" _Judgemental? What's wrong with being judged on what chu do?" T.K. pried, tilting his head._

 _Lucy looked away as he finished his question. She'd only opened up to Lincoln about this. It was easier for her because Lincoln is her brother and he's the one to lend a helping hand to those in need; however, she only knew T.K. for three months. What could he possibly do? But it was already too late as the subject was already out in the open._

" _Sigh. It's my classmates. They look down on those whose try to be different. They don't have the artistic views to see what I'm trying to say." Lucy explained._

" _Obviously, Lucy. Kids your age only care action figures and dollies; however, I can see where you're coming from," T.K. responded._

 _Lucy looked towards him, "Really, how?"_

" _I've been told that dancing is good for nothing, and it should be dead. I heard that so much that I actually believe them. It took a good talk from my old man to set me straight and realized that dancing can do so much more than that. All I'm saying is: Don't become crushed under the weight of the jeers, find your inner strength and push it all way," T.K. instructed, letting his wisdom show._

 _Lucy began to smile, if you can call it that, "Wow. That's actually great advice. Thanks, T.K."_

" _No prob. Say, can I get up there? I actually have something for this," T.K. stated._

" _Certainty, be my guess," Lucy responded, sitting down on the floor._

" _Different. All the insults and jeers and I still don't feel spent. On and on, I keep paving my way because one day, I'll surely make them pay." T.K. recited._

 _There was a long silence as Lucy jaw dropped. "Wow, T.K. Your poetic skills are truly a work of art. It's like a black hole imploding and transforming into a baby dwarf star," Lucy compared._

 _T.K. grinned, "I don't know what you said but I'll take it as a compliment, chica."_

"Awww, that was sweet of T.K. to do that, Luce," Lola gushed.

Lana nodded, "Yeah, but why didn't you just come to us?"

"I thought you guys wouldn't understand my problem," Lucy replied.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "Clearly, you were absent from the time that we helped Lincoln with his bully predicament. As the saying goes: You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.

"Yeah!" The twins added.

Lucy smiled, "Thanks all of you. So, who's next?"

"Oh, oh, oh, me, me. I have an awesome story," Lana piped.

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to go first," Lola complained.

Lana stuck her tongue out, "You snooze, ya lose."

"How about a fat lip?" Lola growled, getting into Lana's face.

"Try this; both of you tell a story. Surely, the two of you had memorable experiences with T.K." Lisa informed.

The twins ceased their argument, "Oooooohhhhhh. Ok!"

 _The twins and T.K. were in the front yard playing Knights and Mud monsters. It rained the day before, making the ground perfect for Lana as she was covered head to toe in mud. 'Princess' Lola was held in a makeshift castle made of cardboard._

" _Mwah hahahahahaaaa. No one can be brave to best the Mud Goblin and save the fair princess," Lana gloated, doing a little dance._

 _Lola dramatically put her hand on her head, "Oh woe is me, There must be someone tough, brave, and strong enough to best this beast."_

" _Luckily for you, princess. That someone is here," A voice announced._

 _Confused, Lana turned her head, "Huh?"_

 _On the sidewalk stood T.K., fully decked out in knight armor made from cardboard. He even had a cardboard sword and shield. "Fear not, princess. I will vanquish thy beast and take thou- Oh the heck with this! I'm here to save you!" T.K. declared._

 _Lola cheered, "Oh my hero. Do your best, knight!"_

" _Hmph. Not if I have anything to say about it. Come at me, knave!" Lana challenged._

" _With pleasure," T.K. accepted, raising his sword and shield._

 _Lana charged slowly towards him. "Chu, chu, chu, chu, chu, chu! Woop!" Lana exclaimed, slowly swinging her arm to T.K._

" _Chu, chu, chu, chu, chu, chu. Clunk! Biff!" T.K. exclaimed, deflecting her attack and pushing her away softly with his shield._

" _Awwgh! Now your gonna pay! Chu, chu, chu, chu, chu, chu. Scoop! Swoosh!" Lana exclaimed, grabbing a mud ball and tossing it towards T.K._

 _It worked as the mud splattered all over him, "Gasp! No, mud! My one weakness! Whhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"_

" _Ha ha ha. No one can survive my mud bomb. Kiss yourself, good night, knave," Lana announced, doing her dance again._

 _T.K. looked up at her with a serious look. "No! I will not fall to the likes of you. Not without my trump card. Shing! Sparkle, sparkle," T.K. revealed, pulling out a bar of soap._

 _Lola gasped, "Soap? How did you know, sir knight?"_

" _I read a couple of tomes, milady. Now, goblin, your fate is sealed," T.K. stated, grabbing Lana and placing her on top of his thigh._

 _Lana laughed as she was being cleaned and tickled, "No, ha, ha. You fiend, hahahaha. MY one weakness, pfff hahahahahaHA."_

 _Afterwards, the mud goblin was vanquished. T.K. helped the princess down from her prison. "My hero!" Lola complimented, grabbing T.K.'s head and planting a kiss on his cheek._

 _T.K. blushed as he did a pose, "No worries, princess. No goblin, mud or mudless, can withstand the might of Sir Terrence, Knight of the Cardboard Table!"_

Honestly, that was the most fun that I've ever had," Lana proclaimed.

Lola nodded, "You said it, sis. So, Lisa, do you have any memories?"

"Oh I suppose I have one memory of T.K.," Lisa answered

 _Lisa was conducting another experiment in her and Lily's room. T.K. offered to lend his hand as his test subject. Lisa was taken aback; usually she had to sneak her potions to her unsuspecting siblings._

" _Ok, so what is the experiment about again? I just want to be on the same page, that's all," T.K. wondered as he being strapped to Lisa's table._

 _Lisa rolled her eyes, "Again, it's simple. I'm making a brew that can accelerate male adolescent pogonotrophy."_

" _English, chica! Do you speak it?" T.K. ordered, completely lost on what she said._

" _Ugh, I'm making it easier for you to grow a beard," Lisa simplified._

" _Ohhhhhhhh. Then what are we waiting for? Slap that brew onto me and let's get to beard growing," T.K. declared, clearly way too excited._

 _Lisa tilted her head, "Wait, you want to be experimented on?"_

" _Uh, yeah! One, I'm growing a beard, and two, it because you asked," T.K. listed._

" _Oh, I was just asking because I usually sneak my experiments on the others," Lisa explained._

 _T.K. was shocked at the reveal. "Huh, so that's why the others be mad at times," T.K. thought. "So have you tried asking them, Lis'" T.K. inquried._

" _No, I don't because I know that they will say no," Lisa responded._

" _Have you even tried, chica," T.K. deadpanned._

 _Lisa meekly looked away, "No."_

 _T.K softened his gaze. With all those smarts, she was still a little girl who want one person to be a willing test subject. Well that was going to change today._

" _Hey, buck up, chica. You got one willing subject. Now come on, spread that gunk on me and let's grow this thing!" T.K. exclaimed._

 _This renew Lisa with vigor as she spread the white gunk on face. It began to sizzle and bubble as it took effect._

" _Heh, heh. It tickles," T.K. squeaked, squirming in the table._

 _The gunk seep into his pores as the bubbling and sizzling cease. Lisa released him from her table. T.K. jumped off and dashed to the mirror to see the results._

" _So, Lis', when it should it take effect?" T.K. asked, rubbing his face._

 _Lisa was confused, "Strange, it should take effect after the gunk was drained into your pores. Experiment was a failure. Test subject's face is still smooth as Lily's bottom,"_

" _Oh well, so much fo-"_

 _POOF!_

 _There on his face was a huge bushy beard. His sideburns, goatee, and moustache bloomed with manliness as the boy was awestruck. "This...is...EPIC! Lis', you are a wiz, chica! I looked like a barbarian with this," T.K. compared, making poses in front of the mirror._

" _It was no big. The gunk consists of my father's shaving cream, my mother's beauty products, and fertilizer," Lisa recalled, brushing off T.K.''s comment._

" _T.K...the barbarian, T.K. the barbarian, T.K...the barbarian, T.K. chanted as he exited the room._

 **Author's Note: Ahhhh. Chapter 7 is finally done. There are two references in this story, can you find them? Seriously though, thank you all for the views. I never expected this to blow up like it did so.**

 **See you on Chapter 8**

 **Cutthroat Jenkins, out!**


	9. Safe Haven

Homeless. It never occur to T.K. that he would be without a home while running away. He checked his GS's clock and it read "5:30 P.M." T.K. began to worry; if he don't find a place to sleep, he would be out on the streets for the night. With a sigh, he continue to walk down the dirt road. He was in a middle of field with the only dirt road for miles on end. "Hmm, being a runaway child is boring. Nothing special ever goes down. You just running and running," T.K. complained, trudging along the side of the road. This went on for the next hour and and forty-five minutes.

He approached a sign and stopped to read it. "Barkley city limits. Population: 450. Hm, I guess that this the end of the town," T.K. realized. He squinted his eyes and looked down the road. In the distance, he could make out a small, cozy home and a modern truck. T.K. smirked, "Maybe someone could let me stay there for the night. Alright, time to put on the Mutombo charm." He speeded up his pace and made it at the front door in no time.

"Alright, let's do this," T.K. spoke as he knocked on the door. There was a short wait as the door opened, revealing a elderly African American male. The man had a white balding haircut, white five o' clock shadow, and rounded reading glasses. He wore a gray t-shirt with a graphic that said "Foxy Grandpa", black sweatpants, and matching gray slippers. He looked like he was getting comfortable for the night; however, he wasn't agitated about. He scanned T.K. up and down, "Why hello, son. What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Sir...I was wondering if I could stay here for the night? I even pay you for it," T.K. promised, taking out a hundred dollar bill.

The old man shook his head, "I don't want your money, sunny, but can I ask why? Don't you have a home to go to?"

"No sir. My father was caught in the crossfire of a drive by. He died on the scene. I've been on the run ever since then," T.K. explained.

"My god, that's tragic! Did they ever find the killer?" The old man asked, shocked from the random act of violence.

T.K. nodded, "Yes they did. The scumbag is currently serving a life sentence as we speak. So please...may I come in? I only be in there for the night and be out by morning, I promise!"

"Hmm...seems reasonable. Alright just for one night, now come on in," The old man invited, stepping aside.

T.K. was thrilled, "Yes, thank you so much!" T.K. stepped inside and took in the scenery. The living room had two couches, a flat screen smart T.V., and a medium sized table in the middle. The smell of mothballs kicked T.K. in the face, assaulting him and his nose. "Ugh, smells like moth balls," T.K. muttered, plugging his nose.

The old man held his hand towards his ear, "What was that? Speak please, my hearing ain't what it used to be, son."

"I said that this place has nice halls," T.K. lied, putting on a fake big grin.

"Oh, thank you, uh?" The old man froze as he didn't know his name.

T.K. introduced himself, "T.K."

"Orenthal Jenkins, but just Jenk, son," Jenk also introduced himself. There was a long silence as the two pondered their next move.

"So, T.K., are you hungry? Surely you worked up an appetite from walking," Jenk started.

T.K. nodded, "Yeah, the only thing that I ate was a burger down at the diner at town from earlier. I can eat."

"Well how would you like my special hot dogs?" Jenk offered, walking towards the kitchen.

T.K. followed him, "I would like that very much sir." Later, they were at the dining room table. Jenk began to tell stories from his past. T.K. didn't want to be rude, so he listen to the stories. "Finally, my neighbor came over my house after we broke his window playing ball. He wasn't mad but he told us that we had to fix his window; furthermore, we had to find another place for baseball. My mama tanned me and my brother hides for not speaking up sooner," Jenk concluded, taking a bite of his New York dog.

"Wow, that stinks, sir. How long did it take you and your friends to fix it?" T.K. asked, taking a huge bite out of his bacon chili cheese dog.

Jenk stroked his chin, "Almost three weeks because we have to pool our money together and save it. Windows aren't cheap ya know."

"Obviously! Say you have a bathroom? I need to take a shower for the night." T.K. informed, finishing off the rest of the dog.

Jenk stood up, "Certainly! Follow me." The two walked down the hallway in front of them. At the end, they stood at a door with a vintage poster. The poster had a cartoonish bear on a toliet with a caption that said, "Only you can go number two." Jenk opened the door and showcased the small bathroom. "Ok first, towels, big and small, are in the counter on you right. Second, make sure you're completely dried off before you come out. Finally, there's no lever to change the temperature, so you have to use that wretch to do it. Sorry, I've been meaning to get that fixed," Jenk apologized.

T.K. shrugged, "No biggie, Jenk. Thank for all of this!"

"Not a probelm. I'll leave ya to your business," Jenk stated, leaving T.K. alone.

In the shower, T.K. began to think about everything that happened. "This has been a ride, and it has been only a day. I wonder if Lincoln and the others are looking for me. ...Nah they possibly couldn't right? I'm not kin to them, so they couldn't be doing just that. Meh, only time would tell I guess. Alright, let's get out," T.K. thought as he washed the soap off of him and turned off the water. He grabbed the towel nearby on the toliet and began to dry off. After that, he put on some boxers and shorts. He then put on some deodorant under his armpits and put on a shirt. He grabbed his dirty clothes and walk out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Jenk, thanks for the-" T.K. trailed off, witnessing the ancient man had dozed off while he was watching T.V. "Hmm, must of doze off. Oh well, let's watch some Tivo," T.K. thought happily, sneaking the remote from Jenk's clutches. "Oh, Normal Cartoon, and a new episode! Bonus!" T.K. exclaimed as Jenk stirred in his sleep, mumbling incoherently.

 **Author's Note: I want to clear something up. Don't think that T.K. is like the greatest thing to happen to the Louds because he's not. Sure, they have great times with him, but that's it. Like Clyde, he's like a sibling in law to them. Besides, they have each other to make even more good times and T.K. is a bonus to them. I hope that this doesn't confuse you. Thanks for reading!**

 **Yo momma's side dude, out!**


	10. Rejuvenation

A full week had passed and still was no sign of T.K. The milk carton pics and flyers weren't any use, nor was the town search. It would be inevitable that the Loud kids would stop their search permanently. It was midday as the kids walked past their doorway in hopelessness. "Ugh, there is no sign of T.K. anywhere in this town!" Lynn complained, throwing down the pack of flyers in frustration.

Luna nodded as she walked into the living room, "You said it, luv. That lil' bugger is more slippery than a greased seal."

"You ain't lying, Luna. Our friends, neighbors, and townspeople hadn't been any help either," Lola agreed.

"Although, a greased seal does sound mighty slippery," Lana informed, clearly off subject.

Lori rolled her eyes, "We should just give up. The little squirt could be in another city by now."

"Don't say that. Lori! We've just need to keep our heads up. We'll find him soon, I promise," Lincoln reassured.

Lori wasn't buying it, "Oh yeah? Get real, Lincoln! Like I said, he could be in another city, or worst case scenario, he could be literally dead!"

The others gasped at the outburst and they wasted no time calling her out on her display of honesty.

"Lori! What the heck?!" Lynn cried.

"Yeah!" Luan added

"Seriously, Lori? How could you say that?" Leni asked.

Lori shook her head, "Seriously, guys, I said worst case scenario. It isn't like that I meant it."

"But Lori you shouldn't say stuff like that," Lincoln informed.

"Whatever," Lori brushed off.

"GUYS, COME QUICK! THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE NEWS ABOUT T.K.!" Luna called out, waving the others over to her. The others rushed into the living room, where Luna was pointing to the T.V. "The news crew just got intel about T.K.'s location," Luna explained.

Leni tilted her head, "What's intel?"

"Intel. Intelligence. The information about T.K.'s whereabouts," Lisa defined.

Lana put both of her hands onto to their mouths, "Shush. I'm tryin' to hear!"

On the T.V., it showed a newswoman and her cameraman at the bus depot. The newswoman, Tori Wayne, was interviewing the same bus driver that escorted T.K. about a week ago.

"On afternoon news, there's an update on the recently missing child, Terrence Kelli Mutombo. Next to me is the bus driver who unwittingly drove the boy out of town," Tori explained.

The bus driver groaned, "Hey in my defense, it was on my last hour of the night. I was dead tired."

"Blah, blah, blah. When is she going to tell us about T.K.?" Lynn asked.

"Anyway, one does have the vital question; where is Terrence Mutombo? Sir, do you remember where you took the boy?" Tori pried, placing the microphone close to the bus driver's face.

The bus driver held his chin in thought, "Well he didn't say a specific location. All he said was, "Get me outta this town," So, I took him to Barkley, which is eight miles from here."

"There you have it folks. There's still hope for the child. Do you know where he went afterwards, sir?" Tori asked

The bus driver shook his head, "Nope, that was the last I saw of him."

"Thank you, sir. Well all of you heard it right here folks. Mutombo's in Barkley, but with no further answers, this is still a low percentage of finding him. This is Tori Wayne, signing off on Channel Six News. Have a good day!" Tori exclaimed.

"Wow, Barkley! That farther than you ran, Lori," Luna compared.

Lori put her hands on her hips, "Hey, just as you know, beyond the town limits is far for me. I just got hungry and came home."

"I guess the news team really BUS-ted this case wide open," Luan joked.

Lincoln put on a determined face, "Well that settles it! We're going to Barkley!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What makes you sure that we can go to Barkley, Lincoln?" Lori interjected.

"Well, one: Mom and Dad are gone on a week long cruise, and two, the longer he's out there, the more likely he's going to get hurt. Or in your case, killed! So who's with me?" Lincoln called, standing on the table for dramatic effect.

"We are!" The others but Lori answered.

Lori rolled her eyes, "Ugh, fine. We'll leave in the morning because I'm literally too tired from driving all day."

 **Author's Notes: The search is back on! Hope you've enjoy this chapter. I'll see you on the next one. Review, favorite, and all that good mess.**

 **Tha Numbah One Stunna, Out!**


	11. Like a Bum

It was early in the morning as Jenk drove T.K. to a nearby city. The city in question was called Northfield. It was well known for its exceptional factories, but it fell on hard times due to crime. The truck came to a stop as Jenk turned to T. bid farewell. "Alright, here you go, son. Are you sure that you don't want me to drive you another town?" Jenk pried.

T.K. shook his head, "No sir. You've done enough as it is. I wouldn't want you to waste anymore of your gas."

"Oh...I suppose that's ok. Please take care of yourself, this city 'ere is pretty rough on newcomers," Jenk warned, unlocking the passenger door.

"Jenk, please. I'm as rough as they come," T.K. reassured, hopping out of the truck and closing the door.

Jenk waved to T.K. as he drove off, "Alright, youngin!"

T.K. waved back as the truck disappeared from his view. He looked around the rundown town: crumbling buildings, boarded up homes, and grass growing from within the cracked concrete. It gave the boy a sense of dread, as if like something bad was going to happened. "I should really get moving," T.K. muttered, fixing his backpack and moving along.

Time rushed as it was sunset before he knew it. He stopped on a stoop for a dinner break from one of the only restaurants in town. "Hmm, one of these abandoned houses could be a dope place to relax for the night," T.K. thought as he ate his tacos. He eyed a particular one down the the street. It was a duplex, and surprisingly, it looked in better shape than the other homes in the city.

"Perfect," T.K. smirked as he popped the last of his taco into his mouth. He planned out that he was going to wait until nightfall and sneak inside. Later on, it was night, T.K. jogged down the street to his target of "Operation: Relaxation." He crept around the duplex, looking for any inhabitants and a way inside. Fortunately, for the former and latter, there was no one there and there was an open vent in the backyard.

"Noice! Part one of "Operation: Relaxation" is complete. Now, for part two, sleep," T.K. listed as he crawled inside the vent.

After getting lost in the ventilation system, T.K. finally made his way into the duplex. The inside was the same as the outside; it was clean and spotless, which it was a huge contrast to rest of the city. "Ok, I'm getting a feeling that someone does live in the middle of this dump after all," T.K. realized, heading towards the kitchen for a snack.

The boy opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. There was nothing more than some government slices of cheese and assorted sandwich meats. "Well, it's better than nothing I suppose," T.K. said as he took two slices of cheese and one slice of turkey meat. He founded the bread on the counter. After wrapping the bread up, he took his sandwich and he went to the living room.

He sat down on the couch and founded the remote. Turning on the T.V., he founded another of his favorites shows was on. A funny internet video show called Craziness. "Aw yeah, a new season. I was beginning to think that it wasn't coming back on anymore," T.K. remarked, biting down on his sandwich.

Time shifted forward as another show came on, but before T.K. could enjoy it, he heard a noise. It was hard to tell because of the T.V.'s volume. "Huh? What's that noise?" T.K. wondered, muting the T.V. so that he can get a better audio. To his horror, it was the rattle of the front door. The owner was home!

"Oh no! This is just like that story with the little girl and the three bears. What was the girl's name, Brownielocks?" T.K. whispered as the first lock was opened. Realizing about what the owner might do to trespassers, T.K. quickly turned off the T.V. and hopped off the couch. He grabbed his backpack and rushed back to the kitchen. He found sanctuary inside of a tall pantry.

"Alright, I'll just hide in here until morning, and then I'll sneak out the same way as I came in," T.K. planned, opening the door a little bit to see what was going on. He heard the last lock clicked as the door opened, revealing a 20 year old Caucasian male: he had dark clothing, a blond bowl haircut, and a rough five o' clock shadow.

"Ugh, I swear that these runs are going to be the death of me," The blonde groaned, tossing down two bags.

T.K. looked at the bags on the ground, "Just what are these bags containing? Drugs, or laundry? Please let be the latter." The blonde leaned back to crack his back. "Ok, if I can just keep quiet and pray that he doesn't come ove-"

BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPPP!

T.K. quickly closed his mouth in futile as he silently cursed his body for the worst timing. He looked back through to see the blonde now staring at him. He squinted his eyes as someone was inside his house. He slowly reached for something as he crept towards the pantry. "Oh my gosh, this is not how the story ends," T.K. whimpered quietly as he crept backwards to the pantry wall.

He heard the footsteps grow louder and louder as the blonde stood outside of the pantry. "Oh snap, this is exactly how it goes down in the horror movies. The hero waits for his impending doom at the hands of the psycho," T.K. thought fearfully as the door opened, revealing himself to the blonde.

"What the? Who are you, what the hell are you doing here, and how the hell did you get in here," The blonde ordered, reaching and grabbing T.K. out of the pantry. He then held the boy in a headlock with a knife close to his face.

T.K. struggled in the adult's grasp, "In order, I'm T.K. Mutombo, I needed a place to stay, and I crawled through the ventilation system."

"Damn it, I really should bolt up the grate," The blonde noted.

T.K. rolled his eyes, "Yeah ya should. Now, can you let go of me? The knife to my face isn't really helping our relationship status, brah?"

"And why should I do that?" The blonde pried, inching the knife closer to him.

T.K. relaxed himself, "Because even you wouldn't be savage enough to hurt a minor."

There was a long silence as the blonde lowered the knife and released the boy. "Fine, you can stay until you can get on your feet. One rule; do not go into my room, get me?" The blonde instructed, putting the knife away.

T.K. nodded, "Deal! Two things: when you say that you remind me of someone, furthermore, what's your name?"

"Just Angel," Angel responded.

"Hm, ironic. So how did you ended up here?" T.K. asked.

"Long story short, overbearing and controlling parents and my rebellious nature equals massive fallout. I ran away after they didn't want to have no part in my life anymore. Been fending for myself since I was 13." Angel reminisced.

"Wow, that's bites," T.K. remarked, shaking his head.

Angel just shrugged, "Eh, it was practically stimulating being under their wicked control. So, what about you?"

"Well..., my long story short is my father got gunned down by some mark in broad daylight. I've been sent to foster home that's under this beast of a woman's control. Two weeks later, I ran away because of conditions and something very sinister," T.K. reminisced.

Angel was taken back, "Whoa, I'm sorry about that, kid. Wait, you said ''something very sinister.' What can be so sinister about a foster home?

T.K. proceeded to tell him about the child labor ring that Leemick is participating in. He also showed him the green notebook that he kept during all this time.

"That's messed up. But good on ya for taking that notebook of hers," Angel praised.

.

T.K. smugly shrugged his shoulders, "Like a brotha do. Say can I crash on that couch?"

Angel nodded, "Be my guess, and also the comforter is in the closet down the hallway.

Following his directions, T.K. went to the hallway closet and retrieved the comfortee. He placed it down on the couch. Quickly, he took off his daily wear and was soon in his baller shorts and tank top. He hopped onto the couch and crawled under the comforter.

"All snugged?" Angel asked, walking towards his doorway.

T.K. nodded, "Yeah."

"Alright then, good night," Angel wished as he turned off the light and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

It didn't take long for T.K. to fall asleep to the darkness of the room and the silence. Apart from the occassional shuffling in Angel's room, he slept like a baby.

 **Author's Note: Another chapter done, another problem solved...for now. Hope you enjoy, peeps, and I'll see you on the next chapter.**

 **GrandMassaSpectre has left the building.**


	12. New Leads

It was hardly into the morning as something shook Lincoln away. He yawned and stretched as turned to whom disturbed his slumber. It was Lori, who was holding a cup of coffee. "Lincoln, wake up! We have to get a move on. Here, drink this," Lori instructed, handing the mug to him.

"Lori, you know that I hate coffee," Lincoln reminded her as he looked on his cup.

Lori rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut it, you baby. Besides, I put some milk and three sugar cubes in there, so it should neutralize the bitterness."

Lincoln decided to test her theory by taking a sip. The sweet, dark nectar gave him a jumpstart as he guzzled some more before taking a breath. "Oh, wow! That's tasty!" Lincoln exclaimed.

"I told you, twerp. Now, finish up and get dressed. The others are already downstairs waiting for you," Lori informed, walking out of the room.

Downstairs, the girls were either doing something to occupy themselves or fighting to stay awake. Leni, on the other hand, was wide awake and was acting like her usual perky self. "OMG, girls! I'm so happy that we're going to find T.K. Is any of you totes excited as I am?" Leni asked, performing a twirl.

Luna flinched and put one hand to one of her ears, "Yes, love. But please not so loud."

"Please, Leni? I haven't finished my coffee yet," Lynn added, swishing her coffee.

"Oh, sorry," Leni apologized.

The girls heard multiple footsteps as Lincoln and Lori walked downstairs. "Alright, since everybody's up, do any of you have to use the bathroom," Lori asked. No one raised their hands. "Are you sure?" Lori pried, putting an unamused look.

"Lori, Barkley is only eight miles from here. It isn't like were going to Detroit," Lisa explained.

Lori sighed, "I was making sure that we're prepared."

Lana and Leni raised their hands. "Actually, I really need to go badly," Lana squeaked, dancing around.

"Yeah, me too," Leni added, also dancing around.

Lori facepalmed, "Ugh, go."

The two dashed upstairs to relieve themselves. Lola rolled her eyes, "I warned Lana about those Fizzy Kings."

"Heh, you guess they had...ummmmmm. Oh, forget it, I'm too pooped to joke this early. Ha, pooped," Luan stated, taking a sip of her coffee.

Everyone plied into Vanzilla and began their short journey. Some went back to sleep, while others amused themselves in own ways. Lincoln was relieved but also nervous: relieved because they going to find T.K., nervous because he has an idea about what to do with T.K. "Um, Lori?" Lincoln called.

"What is it, Lincoln?" Lori answered, glancing at him by the rear view mirror.

Lincoln rubbed his shoulders nervously, "I was thinking..., when find T.K. and bring him back home; can we ask mom and dad to adopt him?"

Lori almost gave everyone and herself whiplash from stomping on the brakes in surprise. "You're kidding right? Lincoln, mom and dad can't possibly take him in. There's no room in the house for him," Lori explained.

Lincoln wasn't about give up from this, "Lori, you and the others have heard about the foster home. He'll just be neglected and abused all over again. It will be like he'd done this for nothing. Besides he'll just stay in the basement."

"Yeah, Lori, there's nothing wrong with having another person in the house," Leni added.

"Yeah, he could be a lead singer for me," Luna added.

"Or another audience member for my jokes," Luan added.

"Or another sports buddy," Lynn added.

"Or a-"

 **SCCCRRRRRRRRRRRED!**

"Enough! Guys, I'm sorry, but get real! There's no possible way that mom and dad will literally take in ANOTHER kid! End of story!" Lori declared, setting the others straight. The rest of drive to Barkley continued in silence. Lori looked back to the others and she took note of their dejected faces. She felt bad for killing their dreams, but without her honesty, who else was going to tell them the harsh reality of life. "Well, it couldn't hurt to try, besides it could work," Lori thought as she saw a diner in the distance. She has an idea.

"Hey, why don't we stop at this diner and have breakfast. I know that we hadn't ate since last night," Lori recalled as several stomachs groaned in hunger.

"I could eat," Lynn responded.

"Us too," The twins added.

"Then it's settled,' Lori declared as she pulled into the parking lot. The sun was peeking over the trees as the sky became a glorious pink color. The siblings got out of Vanzilla and procceed inside of the diner. It had a western feel to it, completed with saloon doors, western decor, and a nifty looking bull skull on top of the doorway.

"Howdy, ya'll! Welcome to Marshall Dan's Rodeo Diner! How many of ya'll are eating?" The hostess greeted cheerfully.

"Table for eleven and a high chair for the baby, please?" Lori answered.

"Alrighty then, follow me people," The hostess directed, leading the kids to their table.

As they get situated, the hostess let them know that she'll be back with the high chair. She left them the menus so that they order.

Lana's eyes lit up, "Oh, the Rustler's omelette looks awesome!"

"Ditto on the Highwayman's special. It brings delight to my empty, dank soul," Lucy added in her own monotony.

"Guys, listen. I've been thinking about the idea that Lincoln proposed earlier, and...I'm up for if you all still are?" Lori proposed. The others looked up to her with hopeful looks. Lori put one finger up, "But, I don't know that Mom or Dad could warm up to this. That's still a possibility." The others nodded, agreeing on what she said.

"Alright, here's yer highchair for the lil' one. Ya'll ready to order?" The hostess asked, taking a notepad and a pen.

Eleven orders later, the group was now waiting on their food and discussing on where to search for T.K. "Alright, girls. This town is way different than Royal Woods. Where should start the search at?" Lincoln asked.

"Maybe this town has a foster home of its own. We could start there," Lynn responded, playing paper football with Lana.

"Good start! Anywhere else?" Lincoln pried.

Luna raised her hand, "How about the homeless shelter, dude?"

"Good, good! Now we're getting somewhere," Lincoln said as he wrote this down on a piece of napkin.

"Sorry, I'm afraid that won't any of you good,' A voice retorted from across the aisle.

The siblings turned their heads towards an elderly dark skinned man, who was eating a plate of an chicken fried steak. "Oh yeah, what it to ya, old man," Lynn snarked.

Jenk shook his head, "I'm mean that you won't find T.K. in this town."

Leni put her hand on Lynn's shoulders to calm her down. Lori stood up, "I sorry but how do you know about T.K., sir?"

"He was in town about two days ago, looking for a place to stay. I couldn't let him stay outside on the streets at night, so I let stay at my house for the night," Jenk answered.

Lincoln stood up also, "That's was kind of you sir, thank you. But you said that he isn't here. Do you know where he is now?"

"That I can answer. He's in the next town over, Northfield," Jenk answered.

The group gasped at the location. What could the boy be doing in Northfield of all places? "T.K.'s chance of survival is at frighteningly low 10%, due to the excessive criminal activity," Lisa hypothesized.

"LISA!" The others yelled.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "What? I'm stating facts, people. You should know this!"

"My god! Who knows how long T.K. can last over their? Mister, how far away is Northfield?" Lori pried.

"About twenty five miles, young lady," Jenk answered.

Leni gasped, "Lori, we need to go now! What would happened to poor T if we didn't?"

"But what about our breakfast?" The twins cried as the hostess came out with their food.

"Um, ma'am? Can you make those to go? We have something urgent to do!" Lori explained.

 **Author's Note: Alright, this story is drawing to a close in a little bit. I hope that I can get this done before I have to head back to school. Anyway, review, favorite, and follow because I'm not done after this story. Also, don't think I stole this adoption idea from the "Loud House: Sportsmanship" story.**

 **This story so good, it'll make you fall out, boy. I'm so corny.**


	13. Rest Of Your Life

T.K. watched in silence as Angel came out of his room, carrying his bag. "Going on another run?" T.K. asked. He and Angel's grew into a big brother and little brother like status. They really had more in common than they thought they would.

Angel nodded, "Yeah, and this one's very important."

"Yeah, yeah. Say, can I come?" T.K. asked, hopping off of the couch.

Angel froze up. Was it good to bring a kid that he barely knew onto his drug trips. "I don't know T, this really isn't something that a minor should be accompanying and overlooking my job." He answered.

T.K. rolled his eyes, "Angel, I'll be thirteen in a month. It will be worthwhile to go with you to learn the tricks of the trade from you.

Angel sighed. The boy had been cooped up in this duplex for two days. It would help that he would get some fresh air. "Ugh, alright. You can come with me, but DO NOT say anything, just watch," Angel ordered.

T.K. saluted him, "Aye, aye, captain!"

T.K. put on his sweatpants, shoes, hoodie, and headband, and the two headed out the door. The walk took ten minutes as they finally stopped in front a large abandoned warehouse. T.K. advanced towards the door, but Angel stopped him. "T.K., remember about what I said: no talking, only listening," Angel reminded. T.K. nodded as he slid two of his fingers across his mouth in a zipping motion.

Angel procceeded to knock a secret message on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened, showing a big, hulking man. T.K. gulped at the sight of the huge beast. "Angel, what's been good," The giant greeted, pulling Angel in for a bro hug.

"Oh nothing, Kutter. Just here to sell some merch to your boss. That's all," Angel responded, patting Kutter's back.

Kutter took a look towards T.K. and raised an eyebrow, "Uh, sorry Ang'. The kid can't come through."

"No worries, Kut. The kid's totally legit. You and the others won't even know that he's there," Angel reassured.

Kutter took a worried look, but dismissed it as he stepped aside and let the two in.

The warehouse had a desolate atmosphere. There empty boxes everywhere, some open and some unopened. In the middle was a man who was built similar to Angel. At his side he had two bodyguards, just in case. The man slowly clapped, "Well, well, well. If it the Angel of the motherload."

"Good to see you too, Jango. Still cutting yourself daily?' Angel snarked.

Jango frowned at that remarkef as the two stared each other down. After an eternity, the two laughed and came together for a hug. "Still a joker, I see?" Jango asked, patting Angel's back.

"Well, how else I'm suppose defend myself?' Angel answered, patting Jango's back as well.

"True, true," Jango stated, pulling away from Angel. He then look towards T.K. and gave a confused look. "Who dis?" Jango pried, jabbing a thumb towards T.K.'s direction.

"Oh, him? He's cool, man. Don't worry about him," Angel reassured.

Jango nodded slowly, "Alright, cool. Shall we get down to business?"

"Yes. T.K. go over there until we finished." Angel instructed.

T.K. nodded and walked over to the corner where he could see Angel and Jango, but not the door. The deal went smoothly as T.K. became bored and took out his G.S. He caught glimpse of what Angel had been selling: it was small, white, and covered in plastic. T.K. shook the bad thoughts from his head and continue playing.

"There right there in your hand is the fiinest cocaine ever spawned from Colombia," Angel explained, counting his money.

Jango smirked and nodded, "Right you are, Angel. This is a start of a beautiful relatio-"

 **CRASH! THUD!**

"Freeze! Everyone, put your hands in the air!" A police officer screamed.

T.K. paused the game and looked up. There were six officers in the warehouse, but luckliy for him, they didn't see him as they came in. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell that things were about to get ugly. "I need to do something, quick! Maybe if I could sneak around on those boxes" T.K. whispered.

He climbed up on the boxes slowly. When he reached the top, he looked back down to see if he was noticed. Nope, the cops was still focusing on Angel and the others. T.K. kept going until he reached the edge on the other side. There was a door at the bottom, so he hanged himself and let go, dropping to the ground with minimum noise. He snuck to the door and opened it quickly. He rushed outside and looked to his left towards the front; there were six police cars as a couple more cops got out and went through the front door.

He looked to his right and saw a gray box on the side of the building. Smiling, he dashed towards it and opened it. It was a fuse box with five labels for every room in the warehouse. A huge red one was marked: Main power. T.K. switched it to the off side and heard the generator power down. With that deed done, he went back to the door only to burst open as Angel dashed out. He looked to his left and right before spotting T.K. "Come on, run!" Angel shouted, tossing T.K. his backpack.

The two rushed down the street, taking shortcuts, skillfully besting every obstacle in their way, and stealthily sneaking through buildings. Later, the two stopped to catch their breaths. "Did you knock out the power?" Angel asked tiredly.

T.K. nodded.

"Wow, you are one sneaky lil' man," Angel praised.

T.K. beated his chest with one fist, "I take pride in my work, brah. So, what do we do now?"

Angel paused and think about the situation at hand. He didn't want to bring T.K. with him to prison. The worst that they can do is send him to juvie. There's only one thing to do, but he didn't like it. "We have to split," Angel stated.

"WHAT! No, I'm not leaving you," T.K. argued.

Angel grew angry, "T.K., we don't have time for this. If they catch us, I'll go to jail for god knows how long, and you'll to juvenile detention until you're eighteen. Besides, it's best for you to head back to wherever you came from.

T.K. thought long and hard about this. Angel is right, they can't keep running together. Also, he does have all he needed to end Leemick right where she stand.

"T.K.!" Angel exclaimed as sirens began to wail in the distance.

"Alright, alright! What do I need to do?" T.K. inquired.

Angel motioned him to follow him to an alley where they came across a manhole. Placing his bag down, Angel unzipped it and took out a crowbar. With a thrust, Angel proceeded to push down, lifting the cover from the hole. T.K. flinched as the sewage stank assaulted his nose. "Well, get in," Angel ordered. T.K. hung his shirt over his nose and climbed down. Angel followed suit and closed the manhole behind him. "Alright, lil' man, I guess this is where we part," Angel started, hosting his bag over his shoulders.

T.K. looked down to the ground in sadness. "Yeah, I guess your right," T.K. responded.

Angel kneel down to his eye level, "Look, I know it sucks but the more I'm around you, the more danger I put you through."

T.K. nodded.

"One more thing, I'm serious about going back to your town and putting that foster mother behind bars. If you don't then more kids could be at risk, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life," Angel warned, standing back up.

"Alright, I'll do it! For the kids," T.K. promised.

Angel smirked as he holded his fist out, "See ya."

T.K. returned it, "See ya."

Angel looked back and firmly grasp his bag. With one final look to T.K., he jogged down the sewer before taking a left, disappearing from T.K.'s view. All alone again, T.K. hosted his own bag and jogged in the opposite direction. Hours laters, the poor boy couldn't take the smell anymore, so he found the ladder up to street level and climbed out.

He founded himself far from the city, only finding a parking lot and a bus bench. He looked up, the sun was setting and there was a ton of dark clouds gathering for a large storm. Having no other choice, T.K. advanced towards the bus bench and laid down. Raindrops began to pour as the boy covered himself with a blanket. "Pops, Lincoln, anyone, please...take me away from this," T.K. thought as he went to sleep while a single tear escaped from his eye.

 **Author's Note: One step closer. Hope you enjoyed this story, peeps. Review, favorite, and follow.**

 **I'm about to DIIIIVVVVEEEE IIIINNNNNN!**


	14. Found'em

The storm picked up as Lori kept the van stable. "Lis, how much farther is Northfield?" Lori asked, carefully maneuvering around fallen branches.

"I'd say about six miles, I think," Lisa answered.

"You think? Aren't you the smart one?" Lynn snarked.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "Obviously, but my knowledge can only go so far. I'm not...keen on anything geographical."

Lynn threw her hands up in frustration, "That makes sooo much better, poindexter!"

As the two bicker, Lincoln was observing a empty lot. He saw a lump laying on a bench, so nothing wasn't usually until he saw what was next to said lump. It was a backpack with a picture of Troy Eagle, the skateboarding icon that T.K. idolizes so much. It didn't take long for Lincoln to put two and two together. "Lori, pull over here!" Lincoln yelled over the argument.

"Uhh, why?" Lori pried, stopping the van as she and the others look towards him.

Lincoln pointed towards the lump, "Because that's T.K.! There's his backpack right beside him!"

Lori turned her head towards the lump. The lump shivered, revealing a few familiar dreadlocks to her. "Oh my god! Quick, get him inside before he gets sick!" Lori ordered, climbing out of van and pulling her hoodie over her head. Lincoln and Lynn follow suit as they trek towards T.K. and helped him up.

T.K. cringed as the trio walked him towards the back of Vanzilla. "Oh *cough* hey, Troy Eagle. You come to whisk me away to Skate Heaven? *cough*" T.K. croaked as he climbed into the back.

Lynn was confused, "Troy Eagle?"

"His idol. Just roll with it," Lincoln instructed. "Sorry, bud. You need to stay down here," Lincoln responded in deep voice, posing as Troy Eagle.

T.K. weakly nodded, "*cough* Oh, ...OK, then. *cough*"

The runaway went into a deep sleep as the three got back into the van and drove back to Royal Woods. The rest of siblings decided to look after T.K., offering words of encouragement and relief as he slept the whole trip back.

Early the next morning, T.K. woke up in a cold sweat with a thrashing headache, an aching throat, and oddly enough, not freezing nor wet. He pulled up the comforter to see that he was wearing orange pajamas. "Wait, this is what Lincoln usually wears when he sleeps. Does that mean I'm back in Royal Woods?" T.K. thought as he shifted his legs from the couch and looked around.

He was in the Loud living room. It was obviously quiet due to the others sleeping. Even in the darkness, he was able to recognize every detail. A spasm from his headache causes him hiss in pain. "I need some medicine," T.K. thought as he crept to the stairs. It was hard due to the creaky boards and headaches spasms, but he made to the top. He crept again through the cluttered hallway to the bathroom. Along the way, he stubbed his toe on Luna's speakers, and stepped on the twins' jacks.

For his sake, he opted to just crawl on the floor for the rest of the trip. He made it to the bathroom door. He did his business and took two headache pills, which numbed the pain greatly "Oh yeeeessss. I can finally see straight. But now I can't go back to sleep. Oh well, let's watch some tv!" T.K. thought as he walked out of the bathroom.

Before the boy could proceed downstairs, the right door opened at the end of the hallway, revealing Lily as she crawled out. "Huh, how did she get out of her crib?" T.K. thought as he crawled towards her. Lily saw T.K. and began to clap her hands together happily, "Kahlee, Kahlee!"

T.K. reached her and gently slid his hands underneath her armpits. He then lift her up into a comfortable position on his arms. He put his finger to his lips, pointed to the other rooms, and closed his eyes as if he was saying, "Lily, please be quiet. The others are sleeping."

Lily nodded to what he was saying, as if she completely understood him. "Hm, smart baby," T.K. thought as he and Lily crept downstairs to the living room. The two watch preschool shows and cartoons without any violence. The two laughed at the animated antics; however, Lily was doing the laughing overall. Sadly, it had to come to an end as Lily's stomach growled. She began to whine and fuss, before she tugged on T.K.'s arm.

"Hungee," Lily whined.

T.K. nodded as he grabbed a hold of Lily and advanced to the kitchen. He pulled her highchair out and sat her down. He walked to the cupboards and took out a bottle. Setting those down, he grabbed a can of formula powder and opened it. "Now, how many scoops needed for this? Oh yeah, three!" T.K. thought, filling up the bottle with water. He then added three scoops of powder to the bottle. Afterwards, he shook the bottle rapidly for a few minutes.

The bottle was soon ready as he gave the bottle to Lily. She cooed happily as she guzzled the bottle. Footsteps thud the ceiling as T.K. took note. He realized that he couldn't talk because of his throat. He jogged back into the living room to find something to aid him. He turned towards the fireplace and founded a small notepad. He took that along with a pen and jogged back to the kitchen.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at the couch? You're literally going to make your head cold worse when your up and about," Lori warned as she and Leni walked in the kitchen. T.K. was about to tell her why until he was snatched up by Leni in a bear hug.

"Tee Kee! We are totes happy to see you! Like, we thought that you weren't never gonna wake up. You had us, like, worried sick about you, no pun intended," Leni exclaimed, nuzzling T.K.

"Ack! *nasty cough* Leni, it hurts! Please let go!" T.K. croaked.

Leni let go of him, dropping him on the floor, "Sorry, T! I'm just really happy to see you."

T.K. rubbed his head, "Jeez, what does this girl put in her smoothies, spinach?" He thought.

"Hey, Tee Kee, if you're done with your reunion. You might want to hear this," Lori informed, helping the boy to the table.

T.K. began writing down his response. Finished, he showed Leni about what he'd said.

"Ok, but I have something to show you and the others as well. Anyway, fire away." Leni read.

"So Lincoln proposed...that our parents adopt you," Lori recalled.

T.K.'s jaw dropped at what has been unfolded onto him. "Adoption? I'm surprised that hadn't crossed my mind," T.K. thought as he wrote something down. He gave the notepad to Leni to read.

"Won't your parents mind about this? Is there even room for me?" Leni read out loud.

Lori looked to her side nervously, "Yeaaahhh, that's what I'm afraid about the former. They're normally cool about anything until one of us screws up, but adoption may be a whole new level for them. As for the latter, you could just make the basement your room."

T.K. understood as he wrote again and passed the note to Leni. "I get it. Now, I'm going to get something...sinister from my bag. Know where is it at?" Leni read.

"Of course, it's in Lincoln's room," Lori answered.

A minute and a half later, T.K. returned with the green notebook and a tape recorder. Lori and Leni was curious as they looked through the notebook. "Sooooo, what's this? Is it about the foster home?" Lori pried.

T.K. passed the notepad to Leni after writing his answer.

"The notebook is all of the foster kids' records. It what she uses to know who can work the heavy duty things in her illegal child labor ring while the weak are left...TO STARVE!?" Leni exclaimed, clearly shocked over what the boy recalled, even though she already knew about it.

Lori couldn't believe it. T.K. actually been apart of the ring. She was at first skeptical of the entire thing, but as time goes on and driving by the foster home, she began to realize that it was no joke. Why else would T.K. run away? "S-so, what's with the tape recorder?" Lori asked.

T.K. passed the notepad back to Leni after writing.

"One of my foster homies gave me this before he ran away. It has all of the things that Leemick has said and done before and after my time there. I've been meaning to listen to this after I got it," Leni read.

The three listened to the recordings while the others piled in the kitchen one after another. "Woah, that's crazy!" Lynn remarked.

Luna nodded, "Yeah, dude, no doubt. I'm surprised that she made this far without gettin' nabbed!"

"What about the headbutt part?" Lana reminded everyone.

"Yeah, that's the worst part!" Lola agreed.

Lincoln looked over on his right to see T.K. leaning against the counter. He had his eyes closed as he smirked, stroking his chin. "Uh, T.K.? Why are you smirking like that?" Lincoln inquried.

T.K. opened his eyes as he wrote something down and showed Lincoln.

"So you have an idea on how to end this?" Lincoln proded.

T.K. nodded as wrote his plan down and showed Lincoln.

"Ok, so your going to give yourself up to Leemick as a decoy. Then you'll show the police the evidence, and get Leemick put in jail. Nice, the old bait and trick," Lincoln praised.

T.K. shrugged his shoulders as he wrote his response to Lincoln.

"I learn from the best. Ah, ha, ha, ha, yeah. Thanks," Lincoln nervously said, thinking back all of the times he tricked his sisters with the same thing.

That afternoon, the plan was set into motion. The second that Leemick heard about T.K.'s return, she dropped everything and practically ran to the Loud House with a police officer. Lincoln opened the door ten minutes later, revealing the horrid foster mother to T.K., who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs and he had a very calm look on his face. The girls looked on with glares as Leemick hugged him.

"Oh, T.J., my little ball of sunshine. I'm sooo glad you came back home safely. I was sooo worried about you!" Leemick lamented, squeezing the boy in false sadness.

The kids had to withdraw from puking from the sad display. Leemick let go of T.K., "Alright, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for finding my sweet T.J. I don't know what I would do without him." Leemick expressed.

"You wouldn't done a thing at all," Lynn snarked to herself, causing Luna to elbow her.

T.K. snapped his fingers to get the adults' attention. He pointed to the police officer and then points to the door.

"What's that kid? Speak up, please," The officer asked.

"He can't, sir. He has strep throat. But he does want to show you something outside," Lincoln spoke.

"Oh, alright. This better be good," The officer declared, following T.K. outside.

Leemick tried follow, but she was stopped by T.K. by his hand. She rolled her eyes as he closed the door. She looked back towards the Loud siblings, who was still glaring her down. She felt nervous as she felt that they have a personal vendetta with her. Seconds felt like days as the family continued to stare her down. She was internally happy at the door opening, revealing a smug T.K. and an...enraged...police officer. Uh oh.

"Um, what seems to be the problem, officer?" Leemick nervously asked, unsure of what was really going on.

The officer's glare intensifies, "Yes, you! Sandra Leemick, you are under arrest for the endangerment of minors, and violation of child labor laws!"

Leemick was dumbfounded. How did he find out about the entire ring? There was only one answer: T.K. She looked behind the officer to find T.K. sporting a puke eating smirk and he was waving a familiar green notebook. "YOOOOOOOUUUUU LITTLE PIECE OF..." Leemick roared, reaching for T.K.

The officer slammed her against the wall and placed on the handcuffs to her wrists. "Tell it to the judge, sweat shop master! You did a good thing, kid," The officer praised, hauling Leemick out of the house.

T.K. closed the door and pressed his ear to it. He could still hear Leemick shout out curses as she was being driven to the police station. "Sweet music to my ears," T.K. thought smugly as he looked back to the others.

The girls was surprised from the display of cleverness "That...was...AWESOME. That was straight from a crime detective movie, dude!" Luna compared, jumping from the couch to give T.K. a high five.

"I guess you can say that T.K. had her seeing GREEN with rage," Luan joked.

"So does that mean that lady is going to jail?" Lola asked.

"And you don't have to go back to the foster home?" Lana added.

T.K. nodded happily.

"Yay, a new brother!" The twins exclaimed, rushing T.K. for a group hug.

"Hold it you two. We still need to ask Mom and Dad when they get back tonight. By the way, T.K., nice work," Lori complimented, patting T.K. on the back.

He set the twins down and beckon Lincoln to him. He wrote something down in the notepad and passed it towards him.

"Bro, I wanted to say thanks for sticking with me through the tough bits. I always look up to you because of your knack to think out plans for any given situation. It's weird because I'm a year older; however, I still look up to you, and that's the case. Even if this adoption thing doesn't work out, I'll always think of you and your sisters as a second family to me," Lincoln read as the others listen.

He and the girls gave him a group hug. "Awwwwwww!" They gushed.

Author's Note: Welp, one more chapter to go. I hope all of you enjoyed this story. I would like to announce a series for T.K.'s and the others' everyday bouts as a Loud called: Loud And Proud. But it will be alittle bit before I can get it going, so sit tight! Review, favorite and follow. One more thing, if you have any ideas for episodes, please let me know!

Cutthroat Jenkins, out!


	15. Acceptance

T.K. waited patiently on the couch as the Loud kids discussed Lincoln's idea with their parents in their bedroom. "I hope everything goes through," T.K. thought as the Louds came out and plied into the living room.

"Now, T.K., the kids have filled us in about what happened earlier," Mr. Loud started.

T.K. nodded, "Yes, sir. I had to do something. Besides, if I wouldn't done anything, then who would?"

"We know, dear. That was a great thing that you did," Mrs. Loud praised.

"Thank you," T.K. expressed.

"No problem. Now this brings us to another part of this conversation; the idea that Lincoln gave us," Mr. Loud explained.

"Adopting me?" T.K. recalled.

Mrs. Loud nodded, "Yes. Adoption is really a huge step for us, ...but we would love to have you as a part of this family. Now, do you want to go back to the foster home?"

T.K. thought long and hard about this. Since Leemick will be catching charges, it will be safe to go back; however, the new foster parent could be worse than Leemick herself, so he can't take anymore chances.

"No," T.K. answered.

"Yes!" The kids whispered.

"Alright, then! Kids, it's time for bed. You have school tomorrow. T.K., stay behind so that we can go finalize the adoption," Mr. Loud stated.

The kids went upstairs to prepare themselves for bed. Lincoln was going to do the same until he was stopped by T.K.

"Say, Linc...I wanna say thanks...for doing this," T.K. remarked, grabbing Lincoln into a hug.

Lincoln patted his back, "No problem, T.

The next day went by in a blur. T.K. remembered snippets of the adoption process.: he, Mr. and Mrs. Loud had to go over his house to retrieve his birth certificate, the couple had to sign numerous papers, and had to wait on his new birth certificate with the new addition to his name: Terrence Kelli Mutombo-Loud. T.K. decided not to drop his Mutombo moniker because his needed something to remember his father by.

At home, Lincoln and the girls waited expectantly on the news. The door opened, revealing the boy in question and their parents. "Well, did it go through, T?" Lincoln pried.

"Yes. Brother and sisters, say hello to Terrence Kelli Mutomboooo..Loud!" T.K. announced, waving his new certificate in the air.

The house shook with a corral of happy shrieks. As a result, T.K. had to cover his ears. "As a person of little to no inane emotions, I can only say...YES, a new test subject!" Lisa exclaimed, hugging T.K. The kids crowded around him, expressing how they were going to spend their time with the new addition. Mr. and Mrs. Loud looked on at the celebration.

"Well, there's another mouth to feed," Mr. Loud spoke.

"Oh, hush you. Besides, the kids really love him, and we are used to dealing with so many kids," Mrs. Loud reassured.

"What am I?!" T.K. asked.

"Loud!" The kids exclaimed.

"What am I now?!" T.K. called.

"Loud and Proud!" The kids answered.

"Awwww, yeah!" T.K. exclaimed, jumping into the air.

Author's Note: Stick a fork in her, she's done, brah! I would like thank each of you for sticking by ya boy for so long. Stay tuned, so that I can get started on Loud and Proud in a short bit. One more note, I had to get this out of the way because during this, my phone service is out for the time being.

Rack 'em up!


End file.
